Tropical Wave Headed Toward Florida, Bahamas This Weekend

— -- Hurricane Gaston is expected to weaken later today and revert from a hurricane back to a tropical storm, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

Gaston is located about 1,225 miles east of the Leeward Islands and is moving northwest at about 17 miles per hour. The hurricane's path is expected to continue through Friday, although it is forecast to weaken during the next day or so.

Gaston's maximum sustained winds as of today are close to 75 miles per hour.

There are no coastal warnings in effect from Gaston, according to the National Hurricane center.

Also in the Atlantic, all eyes are on a tropical wave that is expected to head in the general direction of Florida by this weekend. The tropical wave is near the Lesser Antilles and has an 80 percent chance of forming into a tropical cyclone. If it does become a tropical storm it will be named Hermine.

Some models show the tropical system closing in on South Florida by this weekend, and possibly even in the Gulf of Mexico by early next week, but the forecast remains uncertain.

Strong winds and heavy rain are expected to occur in the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, and the Bahamas over the next few days as it moves in a west-northwest direction.

Meanwhile, a depression in the Pacific has strengthened to become tropical storm Lester, about 185 miles south-southwest of Socorro Island and about 475 miles south-southwest from the southern tip of Baja California, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Lester's maximum sustained winds are 40 miles per hour and it is currently moving in a west-northwest direction at about 12 miles per hour.

There are currently no coastal watches in effect from tropical storm Lester.

Lester could become a hurricane in the next couple of days, according to the National Hurricane Center.

ABC News' Melissa Griffin contributed to this report.