Tropical Storm Elsa to pass south of BVI!

A tropical storm has now developed in the Atlantic and is forecast to pass near or over portions of the Windward Islands OR south of the Leeward Islands where the BVI is located on Friday, July 2.

At 5 am today, the centre of Tropical Storm Elsa was located near latitude 9.4 degrees north and longitude 48.8 degrees west.

Elsa is moving toward the west near 25 miles per hour with its maximum sustained nearing 40 miles per hour with higher gusts. Some additional strengthening is forecast during the next couple of days.

Meanwhile, tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 105 miles (165 km) from the centre while the estimated minimum central pressure is 1006 mb (29.71 inches).

“An even faster motion to the west-northwest is expected over the next 24 to 36 hours. On the forecast track, the system will move into the eastern Caribbean Sea late Friday and Friday night, and move near the southern coast of Hispaniola on Saturday,” a July 1 weather bulletin from the Department of Disaster Management (DDM) said.

A Tropical Storm Warning is currently in effect for Barbados, Martinique, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines while a Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for Guadeloupe.

A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area within 36 hours.

A Tropical Storm Watch means that tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area, in this case within 36 hours.

“Interests elsewhere in the Windward Islands, Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti should monitor the progress of this system. Additional watches and warnings will likely be required later today,” the DDM stated.