According to the most recent public advisory from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Tropical Storm Chantal continues to work her way through the Caribbean, though the storm is expected to weaken significantly over the coming days.
As of 11:00 a.m. EST Wednesday, Chantal was located approximately 335 miles east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica and 145 miles south of Port Au Prince, Haiti. The storm is moving toward the west at 29 mph, though a turn toward the west-northwest and northwest is expected over the next 48 hours accompanied by a gradual decrease in forward speed.
The tropical storm, or its remnants are expected to move between eastern Cuba and Jamaica Wednesday night and continue on a course toward the Florida Straits by Thursday.
As of Wednesday, all hurricane watches have been lifted. However, tropical storm warnings remain in place for the entire coast of the Dominican Republic, the entire coast of Haiti, Turks & Caicos, and the southeastern Bahamas. A tropical storm watch is also in effect for the central Bahamas and Jamaica. The NHC advises that officials in eastern Cuba and the northwestern Bahamas should continue to monitor the progress of the storm.
Currently, maximum sustained winds are being recorded at approximately 45 mph with higher gusts, though these winds are confined to the north and east of the center of the storm. Tropical storm force winds are extending outward up to 105 miles to the north and east of the center of Chantal.
Chantal is forecast to weaken to a tropical depression or degenerate into a tropical wave over the next 24 hours, according to the NHC.
Tropical storm conditions are expected to continue to affect the Dominican Republic Wednesday morning and Haiti later on in the day. Moving into the evening hours, tropical storm conditions will impact portions of the southeastern Bahamas and Turks & Caicos. These conditions will reach portions of the central Bahamas by early in the day on Thursday.
A storm surge accompanied by dangerous waves and surf will cause water levels to rise by 1 to 2 feet in the areas affected by tropical storm warnings.
Chantal is expected to bring heavy rainfall over the affected areas. Accumulations of 2 to 4 inches are expected over Hispaniola, central and eastern Cuba and the southeastern Bahamas. Isolated maximum amounts of up to 6 inches are expected across southern portions of Hispaniola. Major flooding along with mudslides pose a dangerous threat in these areas and residents are urged to seek higher ground should conditions worsen.