The British Virgin Islands is now under a tropical storm warning as the now upgraded strom Grace heads swiftly westward in the direction of the territory.
This is according to a bulletin by the Department of Disaster Management published on Saturday August 14.
The bulletin stated that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning areas within the next 36-48 hours.
The countries included under the tropical warning which was issued by the Antigua and Barbuda government include: Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla; St. Kitts and Nevis; Montserrat; Saba and Sint Eustatius; Sint Maarten; St. Martin and St. Barthelemy; British Virgin Islands; U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, including Vieques and Culebra.
At the time of the bulletin the Tropical Storm Grace was located at about 15.9 North longitude 56.6 West at about 464 miles East South East of Road Town with maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour.
“Grace is moving toward the west near 22 mph. A motion toward the west with a gradual decrease in forward speed is expected during the next few days. On the forecast track, the center of the storm is forecast to move over the Leeward Islands tonight, over the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Sunday, and then over the Dominican Republic on Monday,” the DDM stated.
“Maximum sustained winds are near 40 mph (65 km/h) with higher gusts. Some strengthening is forecast during the next couple of days. Weakening is expected early next week as the system interacts with the Greater Antilles,” the DDM added.