The circulation within a tropical disturbance west of the Cape Verde Islands organized on Friday and it was classified as Tropical Storm Ida by the National Hurricane Center.  At 11:00 p.m. EDT on Friday the center of Tropical Storm Ida was located at latitude 13.7°N and longitude 37.5°W which put it about 915 miles (1470 km) west of the Cape Verde Islands.  Ida was moving toward the northwest at 7 m.p.h. (11 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 40 m.p.h. (65 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 50 m.p.h. (80 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 1006 mb.

Tropical Storm Ida has a much larger circulation than many of the tropical storms that have formed over the eastern Atlantic Ocean in 2015.  It has a well formed spiral rainband that curls around the southern and eastern side of the center of circulation.  The upper level winds over Ida are not very strong and upper level divergence is beginning to occur in all directions.  Ida is over water where the Sea Surface Temperature is near 28°C.  There is little vertical wind shear and the environment favors intensification.   A period of rapid intensification is possible if the inner core organizes and an eye and eyewall develop.  Ida has a chance to become a hurricane during the next several days.

A subtropical ridge north of Ida is steering the tropical storm toward the northwest and that general steering pattern is expected to continue for the next day or two.  The guidance from the numerical models is less consistent for early next week and that means there is more uncertainty about the longer term track for Ida.