MIAMI – Tropical Storm Erin is forecast to strengthen into the first hurricane of this year’s Atlantic hurricane season on Friday as residents in the Leeward Islands as well as St. Martin and St. Barthelemy, Saba and St. Eustatius as well as St Maarten are urged to monitor its progress.
The Barbados-based Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) said it is “closely monitoring” the movement of the storm.
The Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that the storm, which is located 570 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands, is packing maximum sustained winds of 70miles per hour (MPH).
A tropical storm watch has gone into effect for Anguilla and Barbuda, St. Martin and St. Barthelemy Saba and St. Eustatius as well as St Maarten with the NHC warning that interests elsewhere in the northern Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico should also monitor the progress of Erin.
In its latest bulletin, the NHC said that the center of Tropical Storm Erin was located near latitude 17.8 North, longitude 54.4 West and that it is moving towards the west-northwest near 17 mph.
“This motion is expected to continue into the weekend. On the forecast track, the center of Erin is likely to move near or just north of the northern Leeward Islands over the weekend,” it said, adding that ”steady strengthening is expected during the next few days and Erin is forecast to become a hurricane later today and could become a major hurricane by this weekend.
According to the NHC, Tropical Storm Erin is expected to produce areas of heavy rainfall beginning late Friday and continuing through the weekend across the northernmost Leeward Islands, the US and British Virgin Islands, as well as southern and eastern Puerto Rico.
It said rainfall totals of two to four inches inches, with isolated totals of six inches, are expected and that this rainfall may lead to isolated flash and urban flooding, along with landslides or mudslides.
The NHC said that swells generated by Erin will begin affecting portions of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico by this weekend, and will likely spread to the western Atlantic next week.
“These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions. Please consult products from your local weather forecast office,” it added. (CMC)
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