Tropical Storm Fred Approaching Dominican Republic

On Wednesday morning, Tropical Storm Fred is approaching the southeastern coast of the Dominican Republic with maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour.

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The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) expects the center of Fred to be near or over Hispaniola within the next 12 hours. It issued tropical storm warnings for the southern coast of the Dominican Republic, from Punta Palenque eastward.

A tropical storm watch is also in effect for the Turks & Caicos Islands, the southeastern Bahamas, and Haiti, from the northern border with the Dominican Republic to Gonaives.

Fred will continue to move in a west-northwesterly direction over the next several days and its winds are expected to weaken as it interacts with Hispaniola. Currently, however, its winds extend up to 45 miles from the center.

This tropical storm will move toward the Turks & Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas on Thursday, north to the northern coast of Cuba on Friday, and into Florida on Saturday morning.

Fred will produce non-severe rains in Haiti, the Turks & Caicos Islands, the eastern Bahamas, and eastern Cuba. However, it could produce rainfall of up to 6 inches over Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, which will create a risk of flash flooding, rising rivers, and landslides.

In recent days, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned that up to 21 storms could occur this year. Of these, between 7 and 10 storms could reach the hurricane category, and between 3 to 5 storms can be even stronger. Since June 1, six tropical storms have been recorded: Ana, Bill, Claudette, Danny, Elsa, and Fred.