The Florida Panhandle can avoid a major impact from the recently formed tropical storm Isaias, which is now targeting the state’s east coast, according to reports.
The storm officially formed in the Atlantic Ocean near Puerto Rico around 11 p.m. Wednesday, FOX 35 from Orlando reported.
As of 2 am EDT on Thursday, Isaias was centered about 100 miles south-southwest of Ponce, Puerto Rico, and about 215 miles southeast of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. It had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and was moving northwest at 18 mph, the U.S. National Hurricane Center reported.
TROPICAL STORM ISAIAS WAITING TO FORM, BRINGS HEAVY RAIN TO PUERTO RICO; THE LONG RANGE TRACK REMAINS UNCERTAIN
The storm’s formation prompted forecasters to issue a tropical storm warning for several Caribbean islands.
Forecasters on Wednesday morning believed the storm would be heading for the west coast of Florida, including the Panhandle, but now say the storm’s trajectory has shifted to the east of the state, but warned that it was still too early for say for sure in which direction the storm will go. , reported the Orlando Sentinel.
The center of the storm was expected to hit Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) on Thursday and hit southeast Bahamas early Friday, FOX 35 reported.
The Bahamian government has updated the tropical storm alert for central Bahamas to a tropical storm warning and has issued a tropical storm alert for northwest Bahamas, according to The Associated Press.
As it progresses, “interests in Cuba and the Florida peninsula should monitor the progress of this system,” the hurricane center advised, according to the Sentinel.
Isaias is expected to produce 3 to 6 inches of rain in the British Virgin Islands and the US and the Turks and Caicos Islands and also in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, northern Haiti and eastern Cuba with a maximum isolated total of 8 inches, according to the AP.
Southeast Bahamas could see 4 to 8 inches of rain.
Heavy rains could lead to flash floods and life-threatening landslides, as well as possible river floods starting Wednesday night. The storm is also likely to cause waves that are likely to cause waves to break life and rip current conditions affecting parts of the Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico through Thursday.
These waves are forecast to hit the north coast of the Dominican Republic, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas on Thursday.
Tropical storm warnings were issued for Puerto Rico, Vieques, Culebra, the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Saint Martin, Saint Bartholomew, Saba, Saint Eustace, Saint Martin, the entire southern and northern coast of the Dominican Republic Republic, the northern coast of Haiti from Le Mole San Nicolás east to the northern border with the Dominican Republic, the Turks and Caicos Islands, southeastern Bahamas, including the Acklins, Crooked Island, Long Cay, Inaguas, Mayaguana and the Ragged Islands and central Bahamas, including Cat Island, Exumas, Long Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador.
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Isaias broke the record as the first ninth storm called the Atlantic, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach. The previous record was Irene on August 7, 2005, Klotzbach tweeted.
So far this year, Christopher, Danielle, Edouard, Fay, Gert, and Hanna have also set records for being the oldest Atlantic storm in alphabetical order.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
