TS Chantal slowly strengthening; storm watches expanded to Puerto Rico, After forming Sunday night, Tropical Storm Chantal continues to slowly strengthen as it races toward the Caribbean, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported early Monday July 8
The center of Chantal was located less than 550 miles east southeast of Barbados with increased winds of 45 mph. The storm was moving off to the west northwest at 25 mph, according to NHC's 11 a.m. EDT advisory.
"Convective organization of [Chantal] has improved slightly in satellite imagery since the previous advisory with fragmented curved bands developing in the northern semicircle," NHC said.
NHC says additional strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours as Chantal continues on a west northwest track through the Lesser Antilles early Tuesday and into the eastern Caribbean Sea later in the day.
Previous tropical storm watches and warnings were extended further westward to cover Puerto Rico as Chantal is expected to become a strong tropical storm and could near hurricane strengthen with winds forecast to reach around 70 mph by early Wednesday.
Tropical storm warnings are in effect for Barbados, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Martinique and Guadeloupe with watches in place for Saint Vincent and Puerto Rico including Vieques and Culebra.
Chantal is expected to produce heavy rainfall accumulations in excess of two to four inches as it passes over the islands with possible storm surges of one to as much as three feet above normal tide levels.
This storm could have an impact on the United States by the end of the week and all coastal residents are advised to stay updated on the latest weather information as it becomes available.
This is forecast to be an active hurricane season that the NHC expects to spin up 13 to 20 named storms with seven to 11 becoming hurricanes.
Monday, July 8, 2013
TS Chantal slowly strengthening; storm watches expanded to Puerto Rico
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