thebahamasweekly.com - Tropical Storm Gaston a Little Stronger; another system being monitored

From:TheBahamasWeekly.com

Bahamas Weather
Tropical Storm Gaston a Little Stronger; another system being monitored
By Lindsay Thompson, National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA
Aug 24, 2016 - 9:38:46 AM

News Item on Tropical Storm Gaston issued by The Bahamas Department of Meteorology Forecast Office Section, at 6am Wednesday, August 24, 2016.

TS Gaston is a little stronger; forecast to become a hurricane later today.

At 5 am, the center of Tropical Storm Gaston was located near latitude 14.9° north and longitude 38.6° west or about 975 miles west of Cabo Verde Islands.

Gaston is moving toward the west-northwest near 17 mph. A turn toward the northwest is expected later today.

Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 70 miles per hour with higher gusts.

Additional strengthening is forecast during the next day or so and Gaston is expected to become a hurricane later today.

Meanwhile, The Bahamas Department of Meteorology is monitoring a system expected to form within the next five days.

Satellite images, surface observations, and radar data indicate that a broad area of low pressure associated with a tropical wave is located over the northern Leeward Islands.

Showers and thunderstorms have become more concentrated overnight and are showing signs of organization. But the system still appears to lack a well-defined circulation.

Although environmental conditions are currently only marginally conducive for additional development, this system could become a tropical depression at any time during the next few days while it moves west northwestward at about 15 mph across the northern Leeward Islands, near or over Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, the Turks & Caicos and The Bahamas.

An Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft is scheduled to investigate the disturbance late this morning.

Gusty winds and heavy rains, which can cause severe flooding in low-lying areas, are expected to affect The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands as the system passes. Large swells can also be expected through the weekend.

All interests in The Bahamas and the Turks & Caicos Islands should monitor the progress of this system; formation chance through 48 hours is 60 percent. Formation chance through 5 days is high at 80 percent.