Tropical Storm Earl forms in the Caribbean; Hurricane watches issued

August 2016 – CARIBBEAN – Tropical Storm Earl has formed in the Caribbean Sea, the first Atlantic basin named storm since late June. Earl will track toward Belize and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, where strong winds and heavy rainfall will be threats late Wednesday into Thursday. Current indications are that the chance of a direct impact on the U.S. from Earl is low.

Earl was named late Tuesday morning after a Hurricane Hunter reconnaissance mission found that an area of low pressure had formed. Tropical storm warnings and hurricane watches have been issued for parts of the Yucatan Peninsula, from Punta Allen, Mexico, to the Belize/Guatemala border. A tropical storm warning is also in effect for Honduras from Cabo Gracias a Dios westward to the Honduras/Guatemala border, including the Bay Islands.

This system has already been impactful the last few days prior to being named Earl. Six people were killed in the Dominican Republic Sunday into Monday as this system passed near the island. In the near term, showers and some tropical storm-force winds will impact Jamaica and the Cayman Islands Tuesday and Tuesday night. Some local flash flooding can’t be ruled out over the mountainous terrain of Jamaica. For now, the chance of U.S. impacts appears very low, with the exception of a possible push of moisture and showers into parts of the Texas coast.  –Weather