Tropical Storm Beryl is becoming a bit of a headscratcher for hurricane forecasters.
Beryl's maximum winds jumped up to an estimated 50 miles per hour Thursday afternoon, but a discussion from the National Hurricane Center noted there is low confidence with that estimate
There's also a lot of uncertainty about future intensification for the storm. "Despite being surrounded by abundant dry air, Beryl has apparently been able to isolate itself and possibly moisten the near-storm environment while located in an area of low shear. Since the shear is expected to remain quite low for the next 36 hours or so, and small cyclones like Beryl often have a tendency to strengthen quickly over a short period of time, continued intensification appears likely for the next day or so," read the discussion.
This means Beryl could reach just reach category 1 hurricane strength briefly over the weekend before encountering less favorable conditions and weakening, possibly to nothing more than a rainmaking tropical wave by early next week.
About the only part of Beryl's current forecast that has high confidence is the projected track of the storm, continuing a mainly westward movement for the next couple of days. The storm is no threat to the Gulf Coast at this time.