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Hurricane Fred achieved major status with winds of 120 mph earlier today, but the storm is still thousands of miles from land and has begun to turn to the north into a graveyard for tropical systems.

The storm was only the second hurricane of the season. A low number, especially considering that tomorrow is the peak of hurricane season in the Atlantic Basin.

Right now, the National Hurricane Center is not monitoring any potential hot spots for tropical development. There is, however, a non-tropical storm off the Mid-Atlantic coast that is generating a lot of waves and wind. Seas are 7-10′ at the offshore buoys, and the wind is gusting over 35 mph.

The storm has been forced to our south by a strong area of high pressure which dropped out of Eastern Canada. The high will keep the storm to our south for about the next 36 hours – until Friday morning. Some rain is likely Friday into Saturday as the storm slowly spins east.

The heaviest rain from the storm is likely over the Mid-Atlantic coast from Atlantic City through Delaware and coastal Maryland. Some places could pick up more than 4″ of rain. The storm will not have quite as much juice as it moves north, but locally heavy rain is possible in northern New Jersey through coastal Connecticut.

The impact around here should be minimal – just some much-needed rain. I expect showers off and on from midday Friday through midday Saturday. Temps will be in the 60s for the next three days. We should bounce back on Sunday with some sun and highs in the 70s.