ORLANDO, Fla. — Tropical Storm Laura continues to dump heavy rain over Hispaniola today as it races westward.
Winds have come down to 45 mph due to its interaction with land. The movement is still quickly to the west-northwest at 18 mph.
- Tropical Storm Watches remain in effect for the Florida Keys.
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The center of the storm is located about 95 miles east of Port Au Prince, Haiti.
Tropical Storm Watches remain in effect for the Florida Keys.
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for...
*The northern coast of the Dominican Republic from Cabo Engano to the border with Haiti
*The southern coast of the Dominican Republic from Cabo Engano to Punta Palenque
*The northern coast of Haiti from Le Mole St. Nicholas to the border with the Dominican Republic
*The southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands
*Cuban provinces of Camaguey, Las Tunas, Holguin, Guantanamo, Santiago de Cuba and Granma
*Cuban provinces of Ciego De Avila, Sancti Spiritus, Villa Clara, Cienfuegos, Matanzas, Mayabeque, La Habana, and Artemisa.
A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for...
* The Central Bahamas
* Andros Island
* Florida Keys from Ocean Reef to Key West and the Dry Tortugas
* Florida Bay
* Cuban provinces of Pinar del Rio
Having formed early Friday morning, Laura is the 12th named storm of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season.
The center of Laura will pass over Hispaniola today and then it will be over Cuba by tonight. It will then enter the southeastern Gulf of Mexico Monday night into Tuesday morning.
The Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba are expected to pick up four to eight inches of rain with some isolated amounts of 12 inches.
Florida Impacts
The current track continues to keep it away from most of Florida with the exception being the Florida Keys, which are under tropical storm watches.
This will limit any direct impacts from this system for our region. However, deep tropical moisture will move in around Laura into Florida and keep our storm chances high Monday with breezy conditions. Drier air looks to wrap in behind these tropical systems as they impact the Gulf Coast this week. The dry air will lower storm chances Tuesday into Wednesday for Central Florida.
The forecast may change in the coming days. Stay tuned to Spectrum News 13 for updates on Tropical Storm Laura, and on the other tropical disturbances in the Atlantic basin, with the Tropical Update at :51 past each hour.
Hurricane season runs through November 30.