MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Tropical Storm Leslie continues to churn in the eastern Atlantic Ocean far away from any land.

At 11 p.m. Thursday, the center of the storm was about 1,010 miles east of the Leeward Islands.

Tropical Storm Leslie has maximum sustained winds of 50 mph, with higher gusts.

The storm is rapidly moving west at 18 mph and the storm is expected to turn to the west-northwest and slow down its forward speed is expected during the next couple of days.

Forecasters believe Leslie could become a hurricane by Friday night.

The storm is not a threat to land.

Tropical Storm Leslie becomes the second-earlier formation of the 12th named storm on record in the Atlantic Basin behind only Luis in 1995.

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