Tropical Storm Arlene forms off Florida, drifts toward Cuba. Expect a rainy weekend

A slight burst of energy Friday afternoon from the system swirling off Florida’s west coast powered the tropical depression into Tropical Storm Arlene, the first of the 2023 season.

Hurricane Hunters surveyed the storm Friday morning and found winds high enough for the National Hurricane Center to upgrade the storm, which it still predicts will be short-lived and cause few impacts to Florida beyond rain.

As of a 5 p.m. update, Arlene was about 240 miles west from Fort Myers, with maximum sustained winds hovering around 40 miles per hour. The hurricane center predicted it will lose steam as it moves south and could peter out entirely by Saturday evening, just before it crosses the northern coast of Cuba.

South and Central Florida can expect a few more inches of rain, which forecasters said is unrelated to the storm, through the weekend.

READ MORE: How much more rain will the Miami area see over the weekend? What the forecast says

Miami Herald Editor Jeff Kleinman contributed to this article.