Islands on Alert as New Storm Nears Caribbean
A hurricane watch was issued Saturday for the British Virgin Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico as Tropical Storm Hortense moved toward the Caribbean and gained strength, the National Hurricane Center said.
Tropical storm warnings also were in effect from Martinique in the eastern Caribbean northwestward to Puerto Rico.
A hurricane watch indicates that hurricane conditions are expected within 36 hours. Hurricane and tropical storm warnings are posted 24 hours ahead of possible landfall.
At 11 p.m. EDT, Hortense’s center was near the tip of Guadeloupe. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of about 65 mph and was moving west-northwest at 10 mph, a track that forecasters said would bring Hortense’s center into the northeastern Caribbean today. Further strengthening also was likely, they said.
Hortense would become a hurricane if sustained winds reached 74 mph.
Forecasters said it was too early to predict whether Hortense would threaten the U.S. mainland.
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