SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) – Heavy rains pummeled the eastern Caribbean on Wednesday due to a weather system headed to Puerto Rico and other islands that was expected to develop into a tropical storm and unleash flooding and landslides.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm was expected to move over or near Puerto Rico on Wednesday night, then brush the northern shores of Hispaniola the following day while on a path that could take it to the U.S. mainland by the weekend.
The center said the storm is expected to strengthen before it makes landfall in the Dominican Republic on Thursday, although it cautioned it’s still unclear what it would do in upcoming days: “Simply put, there are a lot of hurdles in the system’s way, so it is best to stay on the conservative side at the moment and continue to stress the large uncertainty after it leaves the Caribbean,” the advisory said.
Forecasters issued tropical storm warnings for Puerto Rico, the British and U.S. Virgin Islands, Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Martin, St. Maarten, Saba, St. Eustatius and portions of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. A tropical storm warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected within within 36 hours.
The forecast warned the islands could experience 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 cm) of rainfall, with up to 10 inches (25 cm) in isolated spots.