Don't Unboard The Windows Just Yet; Rogue Tropical Storm Forms Near Cayman Islands

With just three weeks left in the official 2008 Hurricane Season, a rogue storm has formed off the coast of Nicaragua and is now a Tropical Storm. Paloma could be making her way into the West side of Cuba by Sunday.

By Friday, Tropical Storm Paloma could reach hurricane strength and is likely to make a Cuba landfall and then trek Northward from there, according to a news report.

the storm is centered about 70 miles east-northeast of Cabo Gracias a Dios on the Nicaragua-Honduras border and may also hit the Cayman Islands.

Paloma is moving toward the north-northwest at about 7 mph. It is expected to gradually turn toward the north, then to the northeast toward Cuba.

Parts of the Honduras and Nicaragua are under a tropical storm watch. At 1 pm Eastern, the National Hurricane Center in Miami continued a HURRICANE WATCH for the Cayman Islands, which means hurricane conditions are possible within the next 36-hours, as Paloma is projected to continue strengthening, reaching hurricane status sometime today or tomorrow. She is expected to take a gradual turn to the Northeast on Friday or Saturday, with expected rainfall to be around 2 to 4 inches for affected Honduras and Nicaragua areas and 4 to 8, possibly up to 12 inches over the Cayman Islands. This is a rogue storm with the potential to reach and maintain hurricane strength, although the NOAA does project the path back out into the Atlantic and not currently affecting the United States coastline.