During this morning Hurricane Elsa continued to weaken a bit and is now a tropical storm again. The maximum wind speed is 110 kilometers per hour, with higher gusts and a central pressure of 999 hectopascals.
According to the National Weather Service’s Tropical Cyclone Advisory Bulletin No. 9 from the Meteorological Institute’s Forecast Center, which was released on Saturday afternoon, Elsa continued to move in a direction close to the west and northwest, although its speed was reduced slightly to 46 kilometers per hour.
At noon, its center was estimated at 17.2°N latitude and 72.0°W longitude, a location that places it about 80 kilometers southwest of Cabo Piata, Dominican Republic and about 515 kilometers east of Kingston, Jamaica.
Over the next 12 to 24 hours the hurricane will continue on a similar path, turning northwest on Sunday and gradually reducing its translation speed, with slight fluctuations in intensity, to continue moving through the afternoon today across the seas south of Hispaniola, approaching the extreme southwest of Haiti. Since noon today, entering the Kowloon Strait since midnight today.
As Tropical Storm Elsa approaches, areas of showers and rain will begin to increase over the southeastern counties, associated with the outer circulation bands of this system; Rain can be strong and severe in some locations, especially in mountainous areas.
Starting at dawn, winds and waves will begin to increase in intensity on the southern coast of the eastern region of Cuba. Wind speeds will range between 30 and 45 kilometers per hour, with higher gusts of tropical storm strength reaching 65 kilometers per hour. There will be waves from Cabo Cruz to Ponta de Maizi increasing to strong swells from early morning with light to moderate coastal flooding. The next tropical cyclone warning will be issued at 6 pm on Saturday.
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