Tropical Depression 5 was gaining strength late Wednesday and was expected to become Tropical Storm Elsa before reaching the Lesser Antilles on Thursday as it headed toward the Caribbean, the National Hurricane Center said overnight Wednesday.
Heavy rainfall and possible isolated flash flooding and mudslides will likely hit Barbados and the Windward and Leeland Islands by Friday, forecasters said.
Potential impacts on Florida weren’t immediately clear “given the uncertainty in the long-range forecast,” the hurricane center said.
HURRICANE HUNTERS HEAD TO SOUTH CAROLINA ON STORM RECON MISSION
Parts of the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Hispaniola, Turks and Caicos and the southeastern Bahamas will likely have wind and rain through early next week, the NHC said.