The National Weather Service is keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Irene, and we in South Florida should too.

With winds topping 50 mph on Saturday, the storm is located about 190 miles east of the Caribbean island Dominica and could impact Florida on Thursday or Friday.

Irene is expected to reach Hurricane strength by Monday when it is near Hispaniola.

“It is still really early,” said Eric Blake, hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center. “It is certainly something that residents of South Florida should monitor.”

Blake said the storm will likely move northwest toward Florida, but because it is so far away there is still a lot of uncertainty in the tracking.

A tropical storm warning has been issued for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, which are expected to see the storm as early as Sunday afternoon.