Tropical Storm Isaias has formed in the Caribbean, and the North Carolina coast is squarely in the forecast cone of uncertainty.
At 11 a.m., the center of Tropical Storm Isaias was located near latitude 18.1 North, longitude 68.9 West. Isaias is moving toward the northwest near 20 mph (31 km/h), and a west-northwestward to northwestward motion with some decrease in forward speed is expected over the next couple of days. On the forecast track, the center of Isaias will move over Hispaniola today and move near the Southeastern Bahamas by tonight or early Friday. Isaias is forecast to be near the Central Bahamas Friday night and approach the Northwest Bahamas or southern Florida Friday night and Saturday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 60 mph (95 km/h) with higher gusts. Some slight weakening is possible as Isaias moves over Hispaniola today. Re-strengthening is forecast on Friday and Friday night.
Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 310 miles (500 km) primarily to the north of the center. Tropical-storm-force winds are occurring along the southern coast of Puerto Rico. A Weatherflow station at Las Mareas, Puerto Rico, reported sustained winds of 45 mph (72 km/h) with a gust to 54 mph (87 km/h). A wind gust of 60 mph (96 km/h) was recently reported at Punta Cana on the eastern tip of the Dominican Republic.
The estimated minimum central pressure is 1003 mb (29.62 inches).