ELSA HEADING TOWARD THE LESSER ANTILLES: TROPICAL STORM WATCH ISSUED FOR JAMAICA & PORTIONS OF DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
The government of the Dominican Republic has issued a Tropical Storm Watch for the southern coast of the Dominican Republic from the Haiti/Dominican Republic border eastward to Punta Palenque.
The government of Jamaica has issued a Tropical Storm Watch for Jamaica.
SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT:
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for…
* Barbados
* Martinique
* St. Lucia
* St. Vincent and the Grenadines
A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for…
* Grenada and its dependencies
* The southern and western coasts of Haiti from the southern border
of the Dominican Republic to Le Mole St. Nicholas
* The southern coast of the Dominican Republic from the southern
border of Haiti eastward to Punta Palenque
* Jamaica
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, Haiti, and eastern Cuba should monitor the progress of Elsa. Additional watches and warnings will likely be required later tonight and Friday.
For storm information specific to your area, please monitor products issued by your national meteorological service.
DISCUSSION AND OUTLOOK
At 8:00 PM AST (0000 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Elsa was located near latitude 11.4 North, longitude 54.7 West. Elsa is moving toward the west-northwest near 28 mph (44 km/h) and this general motion is expected to continue for the next couple of days.
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 Sunday, Elsa is forecast to move near Jamaica and portions of eastern Cuba.
Maximum sustained winds are near 45 mph (75 km/h) with higher gusts. Some strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours.
Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 90 miles (150 km) mainly to the north of the center.
The estimated minimum central pressure is 1005 mb (29.68 inches).
