Leslie may live on, stir seas over central Atlantic into mid-October

By Courtney SpamerLeslie, located over the central Atlantic, is expected to continue roaming the waters of the Atlantic Ocean through next week.

AccuWeather meteorologists began tracking the subtropical system, which eventually became Leslie, on Sept. 23. On Sept. 29, Leslie was officially named a tropical storm.

Early Wednesday morning, Leslie became a Category 1 hurricane, but weakened back to tropical storm status on Thursday afternoon.

While Leslie has been dancing around the central Atlantic, it will finally get turned more toward the southeast by the end of the weekend and early next week, according to AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski.

Until the storm starts to move, swells propagating away from it can stir rough seas along the beaches of the northeastern United States and Atlantic Canada into Saturday.

"Southward-traveling swells can aim toward the northern Caribbean Islands into early next week," Kottlowski said.

The storm will remain a concern for shipping routes that pass through the central Atlantic into early next week.

RELATED: 
AccuWeather Hurricane Center 
Tropical storm may brew next week as it spreads downpours from Caribbean to Bahamas, southeastern US 
"Medicane," hurricanes of the Mediterranean?

How long Leslie will wander the waters of the Atlantic will depend on when a non-tropical storm can whisk it away toward the Azores or Europe.

"Leslie is projected to move northeast later next week, and this could bring the storm close to the Azores by the end of next week," Kottlowski said.

However, the scenario exists that Leslie may miss that connection and meander over the eastern Atlantic for another week.

Leslie is the 12th named system that has developed in the Atlantic Basin for the 2018 tropical season.

Several tropical waves are scheduled to push along the Atlantic and toward the Caribbean over the next week.

A broad area of disturbed weather with showers and thunderstorms has the greatest chance of evolving into a tropical depression or storm over the central Caribbean or perhaps the Gulf of Mexico this weekend into next week.

Should it become the next tropical storm, it would be given the name Michael.

Download the free AccuWeather app to stay up to date on any tropical concerns and weather hazards for your area.

Do you think Leslie will make landfall? Click on the image above to make your Forecaster Challenge prediction., AccuWeather meteorologist

October 06, 2018, 2:19:43 AM EDT