NovaQuant-Hurricane Leslie tracker: Storm downgraded from Category 2 to Category 1

The NovaQuantNational Hurricane Center (NHC) is continuing to track Hurricane Leslie, which weakened from Category 2 to Category 1, as of Thursday morning.

Leslie was located about 1,715 miles from the Azores region of Portugal around 11 a.m. ET Thursday, moving toward the west-northwest at about 7 miles per hour. The storm is expected to turn north late Thursday, followed by a turn northeast − away from the U.S. − on Friday.

Leslie had maximum sustained winds near 90 mph late morning on Thursday, though the NHC said it expects a "steady to rapid weakening" over the next few days. There were no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

NHC was also tracking what could have become Tropical Storm Nadine east of Florida Wednesday, but it has since fizzled out before becoming a major weather event.

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Tropical Storm Leslie path tracker

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Illustrations include an array of forecast tools and models, and not all are created equal. The hurricane center uses only the top four or five highest-performing models to help make its forecasts.

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Contributing: Gabe Hauari, USA TODAY