FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — While Hurricane Danielle meanders in the open Atlantic, Tropical Storm Earl is expected to pass the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico Sunday before becoming a hurricane later this week, forecasters said.
As of the National Hurricane Center’s 11 a.m. EDT advisory on Sunday, Tropical Storm Earl was located about 85 miles north-northeast of St. Thomas, moving northwest at 3 mph with its maximum-sustained winds maintaining at 50 mph.
Earl’s tropical storm-force winds extended out up to 105 miles.
Parts of the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico can expect heavy rainfall of up to 6 inches and gusty winds.
“Earl is expected to curve sharply and quickly, allowing the storm to pass well south and east of the island. Direct impacts are unlikely, however Earl may generate rough surf and rip currents which can impact the island through this week,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alan Reppert.
After spending most of the day as a tropical storm, Hurricane Danielle saw its maximum sustained winds intensify back to 75 mph late Saturday night.
As of 11 a.m. Sunday, Danielle was almost 1,000 miles away from land in the northern Atlantic Ocean and inching west at 1 mph.
Forecasters say an area of low pressure could form later this week from a tropical wave near Africa, and gradual development is possible as this system moves generally west-northwestward in the Atlantic.
As of early Sunday, the National Hurricane Center had given it a 20% chance of developing over the next five days.
———
