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UPDATE: The disturbance has officially become Tropical Storm Michael, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center. Maximum sustained winds are now at 40 mph.

Track the storm here.

Note: This may not be the most recent forecast, please visit www.myfox8.com or open the FOX8 app for the very latest. 

The tropical disturbance that is now in the northwestern Caribbean Sea is expected to move into the southern Gulf of Mexico on Monday as a tropical storm, according to the National Hurricane Center’s Sunday morning update.

If the disturbance becomes a tropical storm it would be called Michael.

The storm is expected to strengthen over the next couple of days and become a tropical depression by Sunday and a tropical storm by Sunday night, the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center said.

The latest advisory said sustained winds were near 30 mph, with some higher gusts.

FOX8 Meteorologist Charles Ewing said Michael could either be a strong tropical storm or a category 1 hurricane making landfall between New Orleans or the Big Bend region of Florida.

“If Michael lands closer to Alabama and Florida, rain could move toward the Piedmont Triad as early as Wednesday,” he said. “If the system continues to move northeast toward Atlanta and Greenville, South Carolina, then the Piedmont could see heavy rain Wednesday night into Thursday morning. By Thursday afternoon, the storm should be moving away from us.”