NWS: 'Too early' to tell Tropical Storm Dorian's impact on Florida

TAMPA, Fla. (FOX 13) - The fourth named storm formed in the Atlantic Ocean, causing tropical storm warnings and watches as it heads toward the islands. However, it will be a while before we know its impact to Florida.

Tropical Storm Dorian will be impacting the Lesser Antilles by Monday evening. It is expected to produce up to four inches of rain in Barbados, the Windward Islands, and Dominica, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Dorian will continue traveling north, but it's unclear when its intensity will decrease. It could become a Category 1 hurricane by Wednesday morning.

"There is a wide spread in model guidance on intensity of the storm. Some models suggest it will become an open wave as it enters the eastern Caribbean Sea. Others show steady strengthening to a Category 1 hurricane midweek," said FOX 13's meteorologist Brittany Rainey. "It is too early to tell the timing and magnitude of impacts in Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, & the Virgin Islands."

LINK: Track Dorian on MyFoxHurricane.com

There's a chance we could see moisture as it heads up toward Florida as the Labor Day holiday weekend approaches. NHC forecasters say, "it is still far too early to speculate on whether Dorian will ever impact Florida."

Meanwhile, a broad area of low pressure off southern Florida has moved out into the Atlantic, where it stregthened into a tropical depression Monday afternoon.

"It's going to stay out over the ocean as it works its way off into the northeast," she said. "For the U.S., we're not going to see any impacts from it."