Forecasters with the National Hurricane Center say Tropical Storm Dorian is expected to become a Category 1 hurricane this week.
According to the 11 a.m. Monday advisory, Dorian is currently located about 135 miles east-southeast of Barbados and continues to strengthen with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph as it moves west-northwest at about 14 mph.
Tropical Storm #Dorian continues to move toward the Windward Islands. Here are the 11 am AST Aug 26th Key Messages. For more information visit https://t.co/tW4KeFW0gB pic.twitter.com/SdxmKx3nNM
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 26, 2019
Though Florida is within the 5-day cone of uncertainty, it's unknown at this time what that impact could look like. While the tropical storm is still expected to become a Category 1 hurricane by Tuesday, says the NHS, it could then hit Puerto Rico by Wednesday with winds of at least 74 mph, and make landfall with the Dominican Republic on Thursday.
The NHS has placed a Hurricane Watch for St. Lucia, and a Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Barbados, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines
As conditions continue to intensify, it is still too soon to assume that Dorian could impact Florida, but the best action is to monitor the forecasts as it pushes forward.
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This article appears in Aug 22-29, 2019.