FORT LAUDERDALE, FL. – Tropical Storm Elsa continues to move quickly though the eastern Caribbean, reaching Hispaniola Saturday.
As expected, the storm weakened slightly, moving from a hurricane to a tropical storm with the latest advisory.
South Florida remains inside Elsa’s forecast cone, and residents should keep a close eye on the storm’s track over the weekend.
As of 11 a.m. Saturday, Tropical Storm Elsa is located about 40 miles south of Isla Beata of the Dominican Republic, according to the National Hurricane Center.
It’s moving to the west-northwest at 29 mph and has maximum sustained winds of 70 mph.
Tropical Storm Elsa is forecast to move near the southern coast of Hispaniola Saturday during the afternoon and into the evening, and then move near Jamaica and portions of eastern Cuba on Sunday.
By Monday, Elsa is forecast to move across central and western Cuba and then head toward Florida.
According to the NHC, Elsa is expected to slow down on Saturday and Sunday, followed by a turn toward the northwest Sunday night or Monday.
A Hurricane Warning is in effect for the southern coast of Dominican Republic from Punta Palenque to the border with Haiti, the southern portion of Haiti from Port Au Prince to the southern border with the Dominican Republic.
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the coast of Haiti north of Port Au Prince, the south coast of the Dominican Republic east of Punta Palenque to Cabo Engano, Jamaica and the Cuban provinces of Camaguey, Granma, Guantanamo, Holguin, Las Tunas, and Santiago de Cuba.
A Hurricane Watch is in effect for the Cuban provinces of Camaguey, Granma, Guantanamo, Holguin, Las Tunas, and Santiago de Cuba.
A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for the north coast of the Dominican Republic from Cabo Engano to Bahia de Manzanillo, Cayman Brac, Little Cayman and the Cuban provinces of Ciego de Avila, Sancti Spiritus, Villa Clara, Cienfuegos, and Matanzas.
Elsa is the earliest fifth-named storm on record, beating out last year’s Eduardo which formed on July 6, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach. He also noted that it’s the farthest east that a hurricane has formed this early in the tropical Atlantic since 1933. The 1991-2020 average date for the first Atlantic hurricane formation is mid-August.
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