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The governments of a number of Caribbean islands have issue tropical storm warnings as Tropical Storm Gonzalo, which the National Hurricane Center has descried as a small tropical cyclone, approaches the southern Windward Islands on Saturday.
The government of St. Lucia has issued a tropical storm warning for St. Lucia. The government of Barbados has issued a tropical storm warning for Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
According to NHC, at 5:00 a.m. today the center of Tropical Storm Gonzalo was located near latitude 10.0 North, longitude 51.8 West. Gonzalo is moving toward the west near 14 mph (22 km/h). A westward to west-northwestward motion with an increase in forward speed is expected through the weekend. On the forecast track, the center of Gonzalo will approach the southern Windward Islands tonight and move across these islands Saturday and into the eastern Caribbean Sea Sunday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 60 mph (95 km/h) with higher gusts. Some strengthening is forecast during the next day or two, and there is still a chance that Gonzalo could become a hurricane before reaching the Windward Islands. Weakening is expected after Gonzalo moves into the Caribbean Sea, and the cyclone is expected to dissipate by the middle of next week.
Gonzalo is a small tropical cyclone. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 25 miles (35 km) from the center.
The estimated minimum central pressure is 1000 mb (29.53 inches).
Wind: Hurricane or tropical storm conditions are possible within the respective watch areas on Saturday.
Rainfall: Gonzalo is expected to produce total rain accumulations of 2 to 5 inches, with isolated maximum amounts of 7 inches in Barbados and the Windward Islands tonight through Sunday night. Gonzalo is also expected to produce total rain accumulations of 1 to 2 inches in Trinidad and Tobago. Rainfall in Barbados and the Windward Islands could lead to life-threatening flash floods.
