BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - ALL eyes are currently on the Atlantic Ocean as Tropical Storm Bret has formed and is expected to be a hurricane as it barrels towards the Eastern Caribbean.
After its formation, TS Bret will be the first hurricane for the season, and the first since 2011 that one has formed in June.
At 5:00 a.m. today (June20), St. Kitts Met Office indicated that TS Bret was located near Latitude 11.7 North, Longitude 44.7 West or approximately 1,263 miles East-SouthEast of St. Kitts and Nevis.
According to the United States-based National Hurricane Center (NHC), TS Bret is moving west at 17 mph (28 km/h), and based on the general motion it is expected to continue for the next several days.
It is packing maximum sustained winds near 40 mph (65 km/h) with higher gusts.
“Strengthening is forecast, and Bret could become a hurricane in a couple of days,” NHC said.
Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 45 miles (75 km) from the center. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1008 mb (29.77 inches), NHC said.
Based on the forecast track, the system should be approaching the Lesser Antilles by late this week.
That will likely impact the St. Kitts Music Festival if it takes a path to towards the Eastern Caribbean chain of islands.
