12:00 p.m. (Aug. 25)
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - TROPICAL STORM watches are now in effect for St. Kitts-Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Saba, St. Eustatius, Montserrat, Anguilla, St. Maarten, Guadeloupe, St. Martin, and St. Barthélemy as it is expected that Tropical Storm (TS) Erika would make landfall within the next 48 hours.
As at 11:00 a.m. today (Aug. 25), the weather system was more than 735 miles to the east-south-east of St. Kitts and Nevis and has maximum sustained winds of 45 miles per hour.
“Erika is moving towards the west near 20 mph and a west-north-westward motion at a slightly slower forward speed is expected over the next 48 hours,” an 11:00 a.m. advisory from the St. Kitts Meteorological Office indicates.
Once the storm continues on this path, it is expected that the Federation would begin feeling TS Erika’s effects by Wednesday evening (Aug. 26) or early Thursday morning.
“On the forecast track, the centre of Erika would be near the Leeward Islands Wednesday night and early Thursday…”
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1:50 a.m. (Aug. 25)
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - LOCATED some 955 miles to the east of the Leeward Islands, what was called a weather disturbance has developed into Tropical Storm Erika.
The storm developed over the central tropical Atlantic sometime last evening (Aug. 24) and according to an 11:00 p.m. advisory of the National Hurricane Centre (NHC), at that time, the centre of the cyclone was located at latitude 14.4N and longitude 47.7W.
Tropical Storm Erika is advancing at a rate of 20 miles per hour and is moving in a westerly to west-north-westerly direction with the NHC reporting that “some decrease in forward speed is expected during the next couple of days”.
It also forecasts that some strengthening of the system is anticipated over the next couple of days. However, it currently has maximum sustained winds of just below 45 miles per hour with higher gusts and tropical force winds extend for 80 miles from the system’s centre.
The NHC advises that although there are no watches or warnings in effect for the Leeward Islands, residents should closely monitor the progress of the storm and that it might be necessary to implement watches sometime today (Aug. 25).
Less than 24 hours ago, Tropical Storm Danny, which at its strongest was a Category Three hurricane, fizzled out while passing through the Caribbean.
Residents of St. Kitts and Nevis are advised to monitor the local media for updates on Tropical Storm Erika and to always be in a state of readiness in the event that the Federation is affected by a storm.
