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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – As we enter the heart of the year’s hurricane season, we have another player on field.

The National Hurricane Center is tracking Tropical Storm Irma which formed in the far eastern Atlantic.

At 10:45 p.m., the center of the system was about 545 miles west of the Cabo Verde Islands.

Irma is moving toward the west near 12 mph. A turn toward the west-northwest is expected by Thursday, and this general motion should continue through Friday.

Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 65 mph with higher gusts. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles (95 km) from the center.

Additional strengthening is forecast and Irma is expected to become a hurricane on Thursday.

There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect for this storm.

CBS4 Chief Meteorologist Craig Setzer said that Irma is forecast to remain in the tropical Atlantic as it moves west during the next five days. Storms that develop in this part of the Atlantic this time of year need to be watched closely because nearly all major hurricanes that impact Florida originate there.