Tropical Storm Bonnie Update

(July 23) -- UPDATE, 2 p.m. EDT: Tropical Storm Bonnie is becoming less organized as it moves northwest over southern Florida and is not expected to become a hurricane.

Tropical Storm Bonnie is on a crash course with the Gulf of Mexico and has already affected the oil spill containment and cleanup efforts. Surge Desk has answers to the five most important questions about the storm and its track.

1. Where is Tropical Storm Bonnie right now?
As of 2 p.m. EDT, Tropical Storm Bonnie was 55 miles southeast of Naples, Fla. and 75 miles southeast of Fort Myers, Fla.

2. How strong is Tropical Storm Bonnie?
Bonnie is packing maximum sustained winds of 40 mph with higher gusts.

3. Are tropical storm warnings in effect?
The tropical storm warning for the northwestern Bahamas and the east coast of Florida from Deerfield Beach south, including the Florida Keys and Florida Bay has been discontinued.

The tropical storm watch for Florida's east coast from Deerfield Beach north to Jupiter Inlet has also been discontinued. The tropical storm watch is still in effect for Lake Okeechobee.

A tropical storm warning is still in effect for the west coast of Florida from East Cape Sable north to Englewood and
the northern Gulf Coast from Destin, Fla. to Morgan City, La., including Lake Pontchartrain.

4. Where is Tropical Storm Bonnie headed?
As of 2 p.m. EDT, Bonnie is moving northwest at 18 mph. Current projections have the storm passing over the southern Florida peninsula today and into the eastern Gulf of Mexico tonight and Saturday. Bonnie is expected to reach the northern Gulf Coast, near the BP oil spill site, late Saturday and into Sunday.

5. How will Tropical Storm Bonnie affect the oil spill cleanup efforts?
Most of the rigs and boats involved in the cleanup have already begun to move out of the area. That includes the rig that is drilling the relief well that will eventually kill the leaking well for good. The last boats to evacuate will be the ones operating the remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) at the wellhead, which will allow BP to monitor the well for as long as possible; they will also be the first boats to return to the site. But the storm could potentially delay BP's kill operation by 10 to 12 days, BP Senior Vice President Kent Wells said Thursday.