Tropical Storm Erika Moving Into Dominican, Not Expected To Reach Hurricane Status
By Space Coast Daily // August 28, 2015
NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER 5 P.M. UPDATE
NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER – The National Hurricane Center now forecasts Erika will not reach hurricane status, with the cone showing the storm skirting the Florida Gulf Coast.
At 5 p.m. on Friday, Tropical Storm Erika is moving into the Dominican Republic this evening with heavy rain and gusty winds, centered about 95 miles west-southwest of Santo Domingo and moving toward the west near 21 mph.
5:00 PM EDT Fri Aug 28
Location: 17.9°N 71.2°W
Moving: W at 21 mph
Min pressure: 1009 mb
Max sustained: 50 mph
A turn toward the west-northwest or northwest is expected tonight, with this motion continuing along with a decrease in forward speed through Sunday. On the forecast track, the center of Erika will move over the Dominican Republic and Haiti during the next several hours, and be near the southeastern Bahamas or eastern Cuba on Saturday.
A Tropical Storm Warning continues for the Dominican Republic and Haiti, the Southeast and Central Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands. A Tropical Storm Watch continues for the Northwestern Bahamas and for the Cuban Provinces of Ciego de Avila, Camaguey, Las Tunas, Holguin, and Guantanamo. Interests elsewhere in eastern and central Cuba, and the southern Florida Peninsula and Florida Keys, should monitor the progress of Erika. Additional watches and warnings could be needed for these areas on Saturday after Erika moves off of Hispaniola.
Maximum sustained winds are near 50 mph. Weakening during the next 48 hours is forecast, and Erika is expected to weaken to a tropical depression on Saturday. There is a possibility that Erika could dissipate to a trough of low pressure during or after its passage over Hispaniola.
Erika is expected to produce total rainfall accumulations of 3 to 6 inches with maximum amounts of 10 inches possible across portions of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, the Turks and Caicos Islands, eastern Cuba, and the southeastern and central Bahamas through Saturday. An additional 1 to 2 inches is expected for Puerto Rico. These rains could cause life-threatening flash floods and mud slides.
Get the latest on this tropical cyclone by visiting the NHC website at www.hurricanes.gov
