Tropical Storm Isaac To Cross Hispanola Friday
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – South Florida continues keeping a close eye on Tropical Storm Isaac as it moves closer to the island of Hispanola.
At 11 p.m., the center of the storm was located about 145 miles south-southeast of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph with some higher gusts. It was moving to the west-northwest at 18 mph.
A Hurricane Warning is in effect for Haiti.
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the southern coast of the Dominican Republic from Isla Saona westward to the Haiti-Dominican Republic southern border, the north coast of the Dominican Republic from the Haiti-Dominican Republic northern border eastward to north of Isla Saona, plus the southeastern Bahamas including the Acklins, Crooked Island, Long Cay, the Inaguas, Mayaguana and the Ragged Islands and Turks/Caicos Islands, and the Cuban provinces of Camaguey, Las Tunas, Granma, Holguin, Santiago De Cuba and Guantanamo.
A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for the Cuban provinces of De Avila, Sancti Spiritus and Villa Clara, Andros Island and the Central Bahamas Including Cat Island, the Exhumas, Long Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador.
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said Isaac should continue in a steady west-northwest direction into Friday. On the forecast track, Issac should pass south of Puerto Rico on Thursday and approach the Dominican Republic Friday.
Some strengthening is expected and Isaac could become a Category 1 hurricane on Friday before it reaches Hispaniola.
The storm could drop as much as 12 inches of rain, with isolated amounts of up to 20 inches, over Hispaniola. These rains could cause life threatening flash floods and mud slides.
>> Visit the CBS4 Tropics Page for an interactive Tropical Tracker, the newest computer model tracks and more.
>> Here's how to use the CBS4 site to prepare for and monitor Isaac:
