Tropical Storm Isaias bore down on Puerto Rico Thursday morning — bringing high winds, flash-flood warnings and, in some areas, up to 8 inches of rain — and could hit Florida over the weekend.
The storm will produce “potentially life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides” in the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, northern Haiti, and the Bahamas, the National Hurricane Center said in an early Thursday morning report.
Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands should expect “tropical storm conditions” throughout the morning, as the storm heads west Thursday and Friday, the hurricane center said. The islands should expect three to six inches of rain, and up to eight inches in “isolated” areas, the National Weather Service said.
The weather service said the U.S. Virgin Islands, eastern Puerto Rico, and Hispaniola might see rivers flood, as well as urban and small streams.
“Life-threatening surf and rip current conditions” are forecasted in places where Isaias will pass through, it said.
As of 8 a.m. Thursday, Isaias had maximum sustained winds of 60 miles per hour, with some higher gusts. The winds extended outwards up to 345 miles, the weather service said.
The storm was forecast to be near the central Bahamas on Friday night and to approach the northwest Bahamas or southern Florida on Friday night and Saturday.
As it travels northwest up the Caribbean Sea, Isaiah is expected to hits parts of eastern Cuba and south Florida on Friday and over the weekend, the hurricane center said.
“It is too soon to determine the location or magnitude of those impacts,” the center said on Thursday, telling residents to monitor the system, prepare their households, and follow the forecast in the next few days.
