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Government House announced Tuesday that all government offices would remain open and maintain regular operational hours Tuesday, August 10, while the Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency (VITEMA) and Government House continue to track the latest developments related to the movement of Tropical Cyclone 6.
The National Hurricane Center has issued a tropical storm warning for the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, as the potential cyclone is projected to develop into a tropical storm today, and is expected to impact the USVI later today and tonight.
A tropical storm warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area within 36 hours.
According to N.H.C.'s 11: 00 a.m. forecast, hte disturbance was centered near latitude 16.3 North, longitude 63.8 West. The system is moving toward the west-northwest near 18 mph (30 km/h) and this general motion is expected to continue during the next few days. On the forecast track, the disturbance is expected to pass near or over the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico later today and tonight, be near or over Hispaniola on Wednesday, and be near the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands Thursday.
Reports from a NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate that maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph (55 km/h) with higher gusts. However, the aircraft did not find a well-defined closed circulation. Gradual strengthening is forecast during the next day or so and the disturbance is expected to become a tropical storm later today or tonight. Some weakening is likely while the system interacts with Hispaniola on Wednesday.
Formation chance is high at 90 percent in both the 48-hour and five-day categories, according to N.H.C.
Key Message
- The system is forecast to become a tropical storm as it moves over the northern Caribbean Sea today. Tropical storm conditions are expected in Portions of the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico beginning this afternoon, and in the Dominican Republic Wednesday. Tropical storm conditions are possible in northern Haiti and Southern Bahamas by late Wednesday.
- Heavy rainfall could lead to flash, urban and small stream flooding and potential mudslides across the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The greatest threat for flooding impacts will be across the eastern and southern portions of Puerto Rico.
- There is a risk of wind and rainfall impacts elsewhere in portions of Hispaniola, the Bahamas and Cuba later this week, although the forecast is more uncertain than usual since the system is still in its formative stage. Interests in these areas should monitor the system's progress and updates to the forecast.
- Interests in the remainder of the Bahamas and Florida should monitor updates to the forecast for this system, but it is too soon to determine what, if any impacts could occur there by late this week or this weekend given the uncertainty in the long-range forecast.
