A tropical wave continues to organize in the eastern Atlantic. The National Hurricane Center is calling it Potential Tropical Cyclone 5, which is a fancy way of saying it has the potential to develop into our next named storm, “Ernesto.”
Monday, soon-to-be “Ernesto” will go from a low pressure to a depression and eventually strengthen to a tropical storm as it approaches the Lesser Antilles.
Tropical storm watches are in effect for St. Martin, Sint Maarten, Guadeloupe, St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla, Saba, and St. Eustatius. These islands could experience tropical storm force winds in the next two days.
Although Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are not under any watches or warnings yet, if you have family, friends, or any interest in those areas, you should continue to watch the forecast as the tropical system will track near them, bringing strong winds and flooding rains by the middle of the week.
Wednesday, the system will move north of Puerto Rico and strengthen to a category 1 hurricane. By late week, the storm will strengthen again to a category 2 as it approaches Bermuda.
Stay connected as there could be changes to the forecast track and intensity throughout this week.