Tomas Weakens a Little, Moving Westward

Tomas looks a little weaker this morning with a decrease in thunderstorms around the center and its eye is no longer apparent.    The system is probably encountering a little bit of an increase in wind shear and some dry air.

Top winds are 90 mph.  The hurricane is about 180 miles west of St. Lucia, moving WNW at 9 mph.  It will turn more westward or even west southwestward over the next couple of days.

It is still expected to increase in intensify in the 3-5 day time frame and could become a major hurricane then.

Tomas is expected to be south of Puerto Rico tonight and Hispaniola Monday night.  It will slow down as steering currents weaken.   It could even meander for a couple of days.  It is expected to make a sharp turn to the north and northeast later this week and exit the Caribbean somewhere between eastern Cuba and Hispaniola.  This will bring the threat of flooding rains as well as intense winds and surge flooding to some places that don’t need it, including Haiti.

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