Tropical Storm Isaias: Spaghetti models track the storm’s path online

Tropical Storm Isaias formed in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday morning and is expected to reach hurricane strength early Thursday as it pushes toward a Gulf Coast landfall. The National Weather Service has launched its suite of online storm tracking forecasts and graphics on the National Hurricane Center website.

The National Hurricane Center's prediction cone reveals a northeastward trajectory that turns northward Thursday night, with a projected landfall late Friday or early Saturday morning somewhere between eastern Louisiana and the Florida Panhandle.

Most of the spaghetti models predict a strength somewhere between Category 1 and Category 2, though a handful predict strengths between Category 3 and 4, according to storm tracking site Cyclocane. It's very early to determine the landfall location of a likely hurricane, but many (though not all) of the spaghetti models place landfall between Biloxi, Mississippi and Pensacola, Florida.

As of 5 a.m. ET Wednesday, Tropical Storm Isaias has 40 mph maximum sustained winds and is traveling East-Northeast at 8 mph. It's located about 580 miles away from the mouth of the Mississippi River, according to the NHC forecast.

A spaghetti model is a collection of storm-tracking forecasts that plot their predictions of a storm's path, all of which are overlaid on a map to provide an estimated visual track of the storm.

As of Wednesday morning, there are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

The latest forecasts, updated multiple times daily, can be tracked online on the National Hurricane Center website.