Weather Updates

USVI to See Showers, Rough Seas as Erin Nears; Hurricane Hunters Launches Tonight, Residents Told to Prepare

Tropical Storm Erin strengthened on Thursday, with maximum sustained winds reaching 60 mph (50 kt) and minimum central pressure dropping to 998 mb, according to the National Hurricane Center’s (NHC) 5 p.m. AST (2100 UTC) advisory. The storm’s center was located near 16.7° N, 51.2° W—about 790 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands—and was moving west at 17 mph. A gradual shift to a west-northwest track is expected tonight into the weekend, bringing the core of Erin near or just north of the northern Leeward Islands. For the first time this hurricane season, Tropical Storm Watches have been issued for parts of the northern Leeward Islands. The Meteorological Service of Antigua and Barbuda placed Anguilla and Barbuda under watch, France issued watches for St. Martin and St. Barthelemy, the Netherlands did the same for Saba and St. Eustatius, and St. Maarten’s meteorological service issued a watch for Sint Maarten. A tropical storm watch indicates that conditions are possible within ...