The National Hurricane Center is monitoring a tropical wave expected to move off the African coast on Aug. 31. After it moves into the Atlantic, environmental conditions in the region could support slow development of a tropical storm as the wave moves westward, the hurricane center said.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is now monitoring three disturbances in the Atlantic, as Hurricane Erin continues to prompt warnings along U.S. East Coast beaches.

In the Atlantic basin, Fernand formed Saturday but was also far from land and forecast to remain over open ocean waters. It was about 360 miles east-northeast of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and heading north-northeast at 12 mph.