Alert #10 on Potential Tropical Cyclone six issued by The Bahamas Department of Meteorology, Tuesday 10th August, 2021 At 9 PM EDT.
The disturbance now just South of Puerto Rico, is likely to become a Tropical Storm tonight, and could begin to affect the Southeast Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands by Thursday morning.
A Tropical Storm Watch is now in effect for the islands of the Southeast Bahamas. This includes the islands of Inagua, Mayaguana, Acklins, Crooked Island, Samana Cay, Long Cay and Ragged Island, and The Turks and Caicos Islands.
A Tropical Storm Watch means that tropical storm conditions could be experienced in the mentioned islands within 48 hours.
At 8pm Edt, the center of the disturbance was located near latitude 17.6 degrees North and longitude 66.1 degrees West, or about 40 miles Southeast of Ponce Puerto Rico, or 553 miles Southeast Of Matthew Town Inagua, or 431 miles Southeast Of Grand Turk, and 889 miles Southeast of New Providence.
The system is moving toward the west near 17 MPH and this general motion is expected to continue tonight. A turn back toward the West-Northwest is forecast to occur early Wednesday, with a West-North-Westward motion continuing during the next few days. On the forecast track, the disturbance is expected to pass near the Southern coast of Puerto Rico tonight and early Wednesday, be near or over Hispaniola on Wednesday, and begin to affect the Turks and Caicos islands and the Southeast Bahamas by early Thursday morning.
Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 40 mph with higher gusts. Gradual strengthening is forecast during the next day or so and the disturbance is expected to become a tropical storm later tonight. Some weakening is likely while the system interacts with Hispaniola on Wednesday.
Residents in the Southeast Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands should continue to make preparations for the possibility of Tropical Storm conditions beginning early Thursday morning. Residents in low-lying areas should also prepare for heavy rainfall of up to 5 inches.
Issued by: Sonovia Sears/Patricia Weeks/Jeffrey Simmons