BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – RESIDENTS of St. Kitts and Nevis are asked to continue to exercise caution and be on the alert as Tropical Storm (TS) Maria, which was scheduled to pass the Federation during the early-morning hours (Sept. 10), is expected to do so during the approaching hours.
The unpredictability of weather systems became evident last evening when Tropical Storm Maria, which was charting a specific course through the Caribbean, changed her direction and lost some momentum.
The forecast had previously suggested that Maria would have passed to the south of St. Kitts Nevis at about 2:00 a.m., but residents of the Federation awoke this morning to learn that while TS Maria travelled at a rate of 23 miles per hour (mph), she now travels at a rate of 15 mph.
She was also travelling in a south-westerly direction and is now taking a more north-westerly course.
Maria is not expected to pass to the North of Basseterre and she packs 40 mph winds with higher gusts and they extend 175 miles from her centre.
As at 5:00 this morning, TS Maria was located 16.9° north and 61.2° west and was approximately 105 miles south-east of Kitts and Nevis.
As a result, Carl Herbert, the National Disaster Coordinator, has advised that residents should continue monitoring the storm and observing safety precautions.
“The storm slowed down overnight and changed direction, and because it slowed down overnight and underwent some changes, it delayed the time when it would have affected us based on the earlier projections. But as the day progresses we expect it to get closer.We still want persons to monitor the storm closely.”
