There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

None.

At 500 AM AST (0900 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Rene was located near latitude 18.2 North, longitude 34.8 West. Rene is moving toward the westnorthwest near 10 mph (17 km/h). This general motion is expected to continue for a couple of days, followed by a turn toward the northwest.

Maximum sustained winds are near 40 mph (65 km/h) with higher gusts. Gradual strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours, and Rene is expected to be near hurricane strength by Friday night.

Tropicalstormforce winds extend outward up to 70 miles (110 km) from the center.

The estimated minimum central pressure is 1003 mb (29.62 inches).

al recent microwave overpasses indicate that Rene continues to be affected by easterly shear, with the low-level center located near the eastern edge of the ongoing bursting convection. Various subjective and objective satellite intensity estimates are in the 35-45 kt range and have changed little since the last advisory. Based on that, the initial intensity remains 35 kt. The initial motion is west-northwestward or 285/9 kt. There is no change in the overall track forecast philosophy. Rene should move generally west-northwestward for the next couple of days, followed by a turn toward the northwest into a weakness in the subtropical ridge partly caused by Tropical Storm Paulette. Late in the forecast period, the track forecast becomes more problematic due to uncertainties in how much ridging will build north of Rene and how close it will be to the larger Paulette. The track guidance during this time shows increasing spread and some westward shift from the previous advisory. The new NHC forecast track is similar to the previous track through 72 h, then it lies to the left of the previous track at 96 and 120 h. However, at these times, it lies to the right of the various consensus models. The shear should gradually diminish during the next 48-60 h, and this should allow Rene to strengthen to or near hurricane strength. After that time, strong west-northwesterly shear is expected to cause gradual weakening despite the cyclone moving over increasing sea surface temperatures. The new official intensity forecast is unchanged from the previous forecast. It lies near the various intensity consensus models through 72 h, but is weaker than those models at 96 and 120 h.