Tropical Storm Elsa, the fifth named storm of the 2021 hurricane season, is expected to pass through the Caribbean over the weekend and remains on a projected path toward Florida, a large portion of which is in the cone of uncertainty.
As of Thursday, Elsa had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph, with higher gusts, and was 410 miles east-southeast of the Windward Islands, according to the National Hurricane Center.
According to the National Hurricane Center advisory, there is “significant uncertainty” in Elsa’s track beyond the next 72 hours, however, it is likely to intensify within the next day or two.
Elsa, the earliest fifth named storm on record, beating out last year’s Eduardo, which formed on July 6, is expected to cause heavy rains that may lead to isolated flash flooding and mudslides in the Caribbean.
The storm is expected to pass near or over portions of the Windward Islands or the southern Leeward Islands on Friday bringing heavy rainfall, move into the eastern Caribbean Sea late Friday and Friday night and move near the southern coast of Hispaniola on Saturday.
Elsa is forecast to produce rainfall totals of 3 to 6 inches, with maximum totals of 8 inches on Friday across the Windward and the southern Leeward Islands, including Barbados.
Tropical storm warnings have been issued for Barbados, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. A tropical storm watch is in effect for Jamaica, Guadeloupe, Grenada and its dependencies, the southern and western coasts of Haiti and the southern border of the Dominican Republic. It’s unclear how Elsa will track after Saturday, although Florida is in her sights.
