Crews were boarding up windows at homes and hotels across the southeastern Caribbean on Tuesday as Tropical Storm Don approached the region after forming in the Atlantic Ocean.
A tropical storm warning was in effect for Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, while a tropical storm watch was in effect for Barbados and Bonaire.
“The shutters are up,” said Joan Charles, administrative assistant at Barry’s Country Retreat, a hotel in Grenada. “I just hope the whole island is spared as much as possible.”
The storm weakened as it approached the region, with maximum sustained winds dropping to 40 mph, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. It was located about 155 miles southeast of Barbados and was moving west at 20 mph late Tuesday morning, forecasters said.
The storm’s center is expected to move through the Windward Islands late Tuesday and drop between 3 to 6 inches of rain across Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and other nearby islands through Wednesday morning. Officials in Grenada said people should expect between two to five inches of rain starting Tuesday afternoon. They also warned of landslides and said waves of up to nine feet were expected.
Forecasters said Don is expected to further weaken on Wednesday.
In the Pacific, meanwhile, Hurricane Fernanda continued to gradually weaken far out to sea. It was centered about 1,460 miles east of Hilo, Hawaii, with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph and was moving to the northwest at 9 mph.
And newly formed Tropical Storm Greg was edging away from the Mexican coast. It was centered about 380 miles southwest of the Mexican port of Manzanillo with winds of 40 mph. It was moving west-northwest at 9 mph.
