Hurricane Jose moving away from the BVI

Press Release: At 5: am, the centre of Hurricane Jose was located near latitude 20.8 North, longitude 64.5 West. Jose is moving toward the northwest near 16 mph and this general motion is expected to continue over the next 24 hours.

A slower forward motion is expected later Monday into Tuesday as Jose begins to make a turn toward the north.

Maximum sustained winds are near 130 mph with higher gusts. Jose is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Gradual weakening is forecast during the next couple of days.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 40 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 160 miles.

The estimated minimum central pressure is 944 mb (27.88 inches).

Jose continues to move away from the northeastern Caribbean this morning. Most of the rain bands associated with Jose is north of the northern Leeward Islands and the British Virgin Islands.

Jose will continue on a track to the northwest through Monday. Afterward, the system may meander over roughly the same area of the western North Atlantic through the middle of this week due to weak steering currents in the atmosphere. The forecast becomes much more uncertain by the end of next week.

A new tropical wave approximately longitude 25 degrees west, is creating showers and thunderstorms a few hundred miles south of the Cabo Verde Islands.

The wave is showing some signs of organization and environmental conditions are expected to be conducive for some development, and a tropical depression could form during the next few days.

The system is expected to move generally northwestward over the eastern Atlantic Ocean however this is based on early forecast information.

Persons in the British Virgin Islands should continue to monitor the different weather systems as they develop.

Please continue to monitor local media stations, DDM’s website (bviddm.com) and Facebook at BVIDDM for regular updates.