Caribbean Keeps a Wary Eye on Tropical Storm Chantal

The Caribbean’s first tropical storm of the year lost steam Thursday night, but fishermen continued to pull their boats ashore and banana farmers prayed for the pelting rains to move away from their crops.

Chantal formed early Thursday from a depression and began racing westward across the Atlantic toward the Caribbean. There were some concerns that it would turn into a hurricane. But by Thursday night, winds had diminished and officials at the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami downgraded the storm to a milder low-pressure system.

However, Martin Nelson, a lead forecaster at the center, said the system could grow stronger again.

Storm watches and warnings were discontinued for the islands of Tobago, Grenada, Barbados, St. Lucia, Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. A tropical storm warning was still in effect for the French islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe.