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Tropical Storm Elsa has increased in speed and rapidly moving west-northwest, the National Hurricane Center has said Thursday.
The storm, which is set to strengthen overnight into Friday, is 600 miles east southeast of the Windward Islands and is currently packing maximum sustained winds of 45 miles per hour.
The National Weather Service, in a Facebook post Thursday afternoon, said if current projections hold Tropical Storm Elsa is expected to be within the Cayman area in the next 72 hours.
“On this path tropical storm force winds are possible mainly over the Sister Islands with fresh strong winds over Grand Cayman possibly starting from early Monday morning. Heavy showers leading to flooding across the islands are expected with a higher concentration over the Sister Islands,” the NWS information graphic stated.
It added that very rough seas will warrant the issuing of a marine warning from Sunday afternoon.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami has said Elsa is moving toward the west-northwest near 28 miles per hour (44 kilo metres per hour).
“An even faster motion toward the west-northwest is expected over the next 24 to 36 hours. On the forecast track, Elsa will pass near or over portions of the Windward Islands or the southern Leeward Islands on Friday, move into the eastern Caribbean Sea late Friday and Friday night, and move near the southern coast of Hispaniola on Saturday. By early Sunday, Elsa is forecast to move near portions of eastern
Cuba,” the NHC said.
Maximum sustained winds are near 45 mph (75 km/h) with higher gusts and some additional strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours, it added.
Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 90 miles (150 km), mainly to the north of the center.
The Government of France discontinued the Tropical Storm Watch for Guadeloupe, but tropical storm warnings are in effect for Barbados, Martinique, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
A tropical storm watch is in effect for Grenada and its dependencies.
“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 NHC said.
Elsa is expected to produce rainfall totals of 3 to 6 inches with maximum totals of 10 inches on Friday across the Windward and southern Leeward Islands, including Barbados.
“Over Puerto Rico, rainfall of 1 to 3 inches with localized amounts of 5 inches are expected Friday into Saturday. This rain may lead to isolated flash flooding and mudslides,” the NHC said.
Original story: Tropical Storm Elsa has formed in the Atlantic basin and could impact the Cayman Islands later this weekend based on its current track.
The US National Hurricane Center, in its Thursday morning advisory, noted that several countries along the Windward Islands chain have been placed under tropical storm watches and warnings as the storm moves westward quickly.
Elsa, the fifth named storm for the 2021 hurricane season, is about 780 miles east southeast of the Windward Islands and has maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour per hour.
The Meteorological Service of Trinidad and Tobago has issued a tropical storm watch for Grenada and its dependencies while Barbados, Martinique, St. Lucia and St. Vincent, and the Grenadines are under tropical storm warning.
The NHC said the storm is moving west but an even faster motion toward the west-northwest is expected over the next 24 to 36 hours.
“On the forecast track, Elsa will pass near or over portions of the Windward Islands or the southern Leeward Islands on Friday, move into the eastern Caribbean Sea late Friday and Friday night, and move near the southern coast of Hispaniola on Saturday,” it said.
Although maximum sustained winds are near 40 mph with higher gusts, the NHC said, some strengthening is forecast during the next couple of days.
Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 105 miles from the centre.
Elsa is expected to produce rainfall totals of 3 to 6 inches with maximum totals of 8 inches on Friday across the Windward and southern Leeward Islands, including Barbados, the NHC said.
This rain may lead to isolated flash flooding and mudslides.
The NHC said there is a risk of wind and rainfall impacts for portions of the Virgins Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Cuba, Turks and Caicos and the southern Bahamas through early next week.
It added that it is too early to determine if any impacts could occur in Florida, but it had advised interests there to monitor updates on Tropical Storm Elsa.
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