There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

None.

At 500 AM AST (0900 UTC), the center of Tropical Depression Rene was located near latitude 17.4 North, longitude 30.5 West. The depression is moving toward the westnorthwest near 14 mph (22 km/h), and a motion toward westnorthwest is expected for the next couple of days, followed by a turn to the northwest.

Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph (55 km/h) with higher gusts. Satellite imagery shows that the system is becoming better organized, and Rene is expected to regain tropical storm strength later today and become a hurricane in a couple of days.

The estimated minimum central pressure is 1004 mb (29.65 inches).

lite imagery indicates that convection associated with Rene is increasing and becoming better organized, with a broad convective band forming in the western semicircle. Satellite intensity estimates indicate that the cyclone is close to regaining tropical storm strength, but the initial intensity will be held at 30 kt to see if the convection persists and what upcoming scatterometer data shows. The initial motion is west-northwestward or 285/12 kt. There is little change in the forecast philosophy for the first 48-60 h of the forecast, with Rene expected to continue west-northwestward. This part of the new forecast track is similar to the previous track. After 60 h, much of the track guidance has shifted significantly to the left and shows less of a northward turn by 96-120 hr. This shift has left the GFS and the old forecast on the right side of the guidance envelope. This part of the new forecast track is moved to the left of the previous track, but it lies to the right of the various consensus models. If the current guidance trends continue, additional westward shifts of the later part of the forecast track may be necessary in subsequent advisories, Conditions appear generally favorable for Rene to strengthen during the next 48-60 h, although the cyclone will be moving over sea surface temperatures of near 26.5C during that time. The intensity forecast calls for Rene to re-intensify and become a hurricane by the 60 h point. After that, the cyclone is likely to encounter moderate to strong northwesterly shear which should cause weakening. The new intensity forecast is unchanged since the previous forecast, and it lies between the ICON and HCCA intensity consensus forecasts.