Barbadians should brace for heavy showers and possible thunderstorms late Monday night and into Tuesday morning as Tropical Storm Dorian passes the area.
Tropical Depression No. 5 was upgraded to Tropical Storm Dorian around 5 p.m. today. It was about 1 165km east-southeast of Barbados, located at 10.7N and 49.1W.
Maximum winds are about 40 miles per hour and it is moving towards the west at 12 miles per hour.
A general westward motion is expected to continue tonight with a turn toward the west-northwest by tomorrow Sunday. On its present track, the center of the system is expected to pass about 50 miles (80 km) to the north of Barbados early Tuesday morning as a strong tropical storm.
Further strengthening of the system is forecast as it moves into the eastern Caribbean Sea on Tuesday afternoon.
Pockets of moderate to heavy showers, thunderstorms and occasional gusty winds are expected to move across Barbados late Monday night and into the Eastern Caribbean Sea on Tuesday afternoon.
The Barbados Meteorological Service is urging residents to closely monitor the progress of the system and advises it may be necessary to issue a Tropical Storm Watch within the next 12 hours.
A storm watch means that storm conditions are possible within the impact areas. (PR/SAT)