Tropical Storm Karen is forecast to approach Puerto Rico and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands in coming days.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) says Karen formed Sunday, Sept. 22, and should be near those islands by Tuesday, bearing a threat of heavy rains and flash flooding.
It adds the tropical storm is now buffeting parts of the southern Windward Islands with high winds and heavy rain.
On Sunday evening, the core of the tropical storm was about 105 miles northwest of Grenada. It has top sustained winds of 40 mph and is moving to the west-northwest at 13 mph.
Here are the 5 pm AST Key Messages for Tropical Storm #Karen. For details on Karen and all tropical weather in the Atlantic basin, visit https://t.co/tW4KeFW0gB pic.twitter.com/wDO5erAyDQ
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 22, 2019
The NHC said Tropical Storm Karen formed early Sunday near the Windward Islands.
Maximum sustained winds were near 40 mph.
A tropical storm warning was in effect for Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, suggesting tropical storm conditions are likely in the next 12 hours.
A tropical storm watch also was issued for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, meaning tropical storm conditions are possible in the next 48 hours.
Tropical Storm Jerry
Elsewhere, Tropical Storm Jerry is raising the risk of tropical storm-force winds as it moves closer to Bermuda. But forecasters say it’s still too early to determine what impacts Jerry may have on Bermuda.
At 5 p.m. Sunday, Jerry’s center was located about 405 miles south-southwest of Bermuda. Jerry has top sustained winds of 65 mph.
Tropical Storm Imelda
Hundreds of homes and other buildings across a region extending eastward from Houston and across the Louisiana border were damaged by Imelda, as the one-time tropical storm slowly churned across the Gulf region, dumping more than 40 inches of rain in some areas.
Authorities blame the storm for at least five deaths.
Authorities raised the storm’s death toll to five, saying it is believed to have killed a 52-year-old Florida man who was found dead Thursday in his stranded pickup truck along Interstate 10 near Beaumont, which is near Texas’ border with Louisiana.
A portion of Interstate 10 in southeast Texas that was closed due to flooding from Imelda has reopened as of noon Sunday.
This weekend floodwaters began to recede to reveal the exhausting cleanup effort that lies ahead.
