- Heavy rains douse portions of Jamaica, eastern Cuba and Haiti
Potential Tropical Cyclone Twenty-Two is expected to strengthen into a tropical storm later tonight, with storm conditions probable across Jamaica, southern Cuba, Haiti, the southeastern Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos Islands through Saturday, while tropical storm warnings are in effect.
The disturbance was located around 200 miles west-southwest of Kingston, Jamaica, according to the US National Hurricane Center’s 7 a.m. EST report.
The National Hurricane Centre in the United States has issued a Tropical Storm Warning for the following areas: Jamaica, Haiti, Cuban provinces of Guantanamo, Santiago de Cuba, Holguin, Granma, and Las Tunas, Southeastern Bahamas and Turks & Caicos Islands
The disturbance was situated near latitude 16.8 North, longitude 79.6 West at 7 a.m. EST (1200 UTC).
The system is moving towards the northeast at around 10 miles per hour (17 kilometres per hour), and this motion is predicted to continue with increasing forward speed over the weekend.
The centre of the system is projected to move across Jamaica later today, southern Cuba by early Saturday, and the southeastern Bahamas and Turks & Caicos Islands on Saturday, according to the forecast track.
Maximum sustained winds are about 35 miles per hour (55 km per hour), with stronger gusts. The disturbance may strengthen over the following few days, and it may become a tropical storm later today or tonight.
The cyclone has a 50% (medium) chance of forming within 48 hours and a 50% (medium) chance of forming within seven days.
