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Caribbean region braces for Tropical storm Chantal
Watches are in effect for Haiti, St. Vincent, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Vieques and Culebra and the Dominican Republic’s northern coast, the Turks and Caicos islands and the southeastern Bahamas, the hurricane center said.
A storm warning means high winds, rain and waves will probably hit within 36 hours. A watch means those conditions are possible.
Chantal will probably come within 160 kilometers (100 miles) of Puerto Rico today, bringing gusty winds and rain to the island, said Dan Kottlowski, an AccuWeather meteorologist in State College, Pennsylvania.
Tropical storm-strength winds reach out 145 kilometers (90 miles) from Chantal’s center. The storm is expected to drop 5 to 10 centimeters (2 to 4 inches) of rain, with some areas receiving as much as 15 centimeters (6 inches).
Chantal’s top winds may reach 113 kph (70 mph), under the 119 kph (74 mph) threshold needed to be classified a hurricane, according to the center. The mountains of Hispaniola will probably weaken the storm.
Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the nations which share Hispaniola, may get as much as 25 centimeters (10 inches) of rain as Chantal skirts the coastline. Haiti in particular is susceptible to landslides when heavy rains fall in its mountainous areas.-(Bloomberg Businessweek)
