By Michael Connor
MIAMI (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Ernesto trekked westwards through the Caribbean on Monday, looking on course to skirt the Honduran coast and strengthen as it turns towards Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, U.S. forecasters said.
Ernesto's outer bands brought winds and rain to Jamaica as it passed south of the island on Sunday but the storm failed to dampen street celebrations there for sprinter Usain Bolt's victory in the 100 meters track final at the Olympics Games.
Heavy rains also lashed Hispaniola and Puerto Rico on Sunday.
The U.S. National Hurricane Centre in Florida said tropical storm conditions were expected along the coast of Nicaragua and Honduras by late Monday.
Ernesto was 220 miles (355 km) east of the coast of Honduras at around 2 a.m EDT (8:00 a.m. British time) on Monday, moving west at about 13 mph (20 kph) with maximum sustained winds around 50 mph (85 kph). A gradual turn to west-northwest was expected in the next 24 hours.
Its predicted track should keep it at sea until a forecast landfall, possibly at hurricane strength, over Yucatan on Wednesday.
"Some strengthening is forecast as Ernesto moves over the north-western Caribbean Sea on Monday and Tuesday," the National Hurricane Centre forecasters in Miami said.
Ernesto will be deemed a hurricane if its winds reach 74 mph (119 kph).
The forecasters expect Ernesto to move into the southern part of the Gulf of Mexico by Thursday but it was too early to know if it could disrupt oil and gas operations in the gulf.
Another tropical storm, Florence, was weakening as it moved west in the open waters in the Atlantic at about 13 mph (20 kph). As of early Monday, Florence was about 925 miles (1,485 km) west of the Cape Verde Islands.
"Additional weakening is expected and Florence is forecast to become a tropical depression on Monday," the Hurricane Centre reported.
With maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph), Florence was the sixth named storm of the Atlantic-Caribbean hurricane season.
August and September are usually the most active months of the Atlantic-Caribbean hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30.
(Reporting by Michael Connor and Angus MacSwan)
Relacionados
- Sanidad dice que el cambio de formato de los antibióticos evitará el despilfarro y favorecerá la sostenibilidad del SNS
- CMancha.- Echániz: "Debemos transformar la crisis en una oportunidad para asegurar la sostenibilidad del SNS"
- Empresas.-SIGRE publica su memoria de sostenibilidad, que logra la calificación "A" del GRI
- Rsc. la crisis provoca un aumento de la demanda de información sobre sostenibilidad
- C.Valenciana.- Guardiola afirma que la sostenibilidad del SNS necesita "una reestructuración a fondo" y "no rebajas"
