Fred in sorry shape
Fred is almost nothing more than a low level swirl of clouds now, except for some deep convection on banding well north of the center. A satellite estimate came in at 41 knots a few hours ago. With no convection near the center and the wekaening trend, we will now estimate 35 mph or just below tropical storm force.
At 8 am edt / ast Hurricane Fred was centered at 17.5° N / 33.5° W or about 695 miles west northwest Sal, Cape Verde Islands. Top sustained winds are estimated at 35 mph (NHC 45 mph). Fred is drifting barely north.
![Idea :idea:](./images/smilies/icon_idea.gif)
Fred should start moving west northwest as a very weak low in the next day or two.
Tropicast: Visible Floater Satellite (6:15 am edt/ast)
![Image](http://www.tropicalweather.net/atl_2009/fred_12.jpg)