Tropical Storm Matthew

could become a Category 2 hurricane later this week, but forecasters at the National Weather Service say it’s too soon to determine its potential effect on Florida.

Tropical Storm Matthew could become a Category 2 hurricane later this week, but forecasters at the National Weather Service say it’s too soon to determine its potential impact on Florida.

The warm waters of the southern Caribbean produced ideal conditions for tropical wave 97L on Wednesday to turn into the 13th named storm of 2016, said meteorologist Will Ulrich of the National Weather Service in Melbourne.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami reported that the storm had 60 to 65 mph winds for most of Wednesday and was moving west at 15 mph.

It is expected to strengthen today and will be over the Caribbean Sea Friday.

“We do expect it to become a hurricane as early as Friday,” Ulrich said.

He said there is a front moving down into Florida in the next couple of days that should draw Matthew to the north — almost in a 90-degree turn from its current path — toward Jamaica and Cuba by Monday.

But beyond then, it’s too soon to predict what will happen. Ulrich said people should closely monitor the storm for the next few days.

“It’s a reminder that we are still in the meat of the hurricane season,” he said. “We don’t want people to get worked up, but they need to be aware.”

He said the peak of the season was Sept. 10, but this is the time of year when storms thrive in the Caribbean.

Ulrich said if Matthew hits land in Jamaica or the mountainous terrain of Cuba, the storm’s energy could be disrupted, and the path could change quickly.

Matthew lashed islands in the eastern Caribbean with heavy wind and rain Wednesday night as it gained strength and headed west. Dominican Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit told people to stay indoors because of flooding.

In St. Vincent, about 90 people were moved into emergency shelters because their homes were in low-lying areas expected to receive up to 8 inches of rain.