SINGAPORE: Tropical Storm Ernesto, the fifth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, may strengthen as it crosses the northwestern Caribbean Sea, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.
Ernesto packed maximum sustained winds of 50 miles (80 kilometers) per hour and was moving west at 15 mph, the Miami- based center said in a web advisory at 2 a.m. local time. The system was about 220 miles east of Cabo Gracias a Dios on the Nicaragua and Honduras border, the center said.
“Some strengthening is forecast as Ernesto moves over the northwestern Caribbean Sea on Monday and Tuesday,” according to the advisory. “The center of Ernesto is expected to pass to the south of the Cayman Islands overnight.”
Tropical storm warnings are in effect for Jamaica, while watches are in place for Grand Cayman and the coast of Honduras from the border westward to Punta Castilla. A warning means that tropical storm conditions with winds of at least 39 mph are expected in the area within 12 hours.
Ernesto’s speed was below 74 mph, the minimum for a Category 1 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale. A separate weather system, Tropical Storm Florence, continued to weaken about 925 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands, the center said in an earlier advisory. It had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph. (Bloomberg/aph)
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