Tropical Storm Hermine spinning in Gulf of Mexico

MIAMI, FL -- The National Hurricane Center says Tropical Storm Hermine has formed from a system swirling in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Miami-based center says a hurricane hunter plane has determined that a tropical depression strengthened Wednesday into the named storm and Hermine now boasts top sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph).

It says Hermine is centered about 415 miles (665 kilometers) west-southwest of Tampa, Florida and is drifting at 2 mph (4 kph) toward the north.

The center says the tropical storm should turn more toward the northeast with increasing speed on Thursday and is on a forecast track that would approach the northwest Florida coast about Thursday afternoon.

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