MIAMI (AP) 鈥� A hurricane watch for the Cayman Islands and a tropical storm warning for Jamaica were issued as a weather system in the Caribbean is expected to strengthen this week, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
The storm system was expected to become a hurricane in the northwestern Caribbean region, the center said in its 1 a.m. advisory.
The system could bring heavy rainfall to Cuba and Florida and possibly the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico later this week, the center said.
Early Monday morning, the storm system was located about 275 miles (445 kilometers) south of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 465 miles (745 kilometers) southeast of Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands. The storm, temporarily named 鈥淧otential Tropical Cyclone Eighteen,鈥� had maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 kph) while moving north at 6 mph (9 kph), the center said.
A hurricane is defined as a tropical cyclone with maximum sustained surface winds of 74 mph (119.1 kph) or greater. A tropical storm has maximum sustained winds of 39 mph (62.8 kph) up to 73 mph (117.5 kph).
The storm was expected to be near Jamaica by late Monday and the Cayman Islands on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the center, which urged residents in Cuba and the Florida Keys to monitor the storm's progress.
Heavy rainfall will affect the western Caribbean with totals of 3 to 6 inches (76 to 152 mm) and up to 9 inches (229 mm) expected locally in Jamaica and southern Cuba. Flooding and mudslides are possible in those nations.
Heavy rains will reach Florida and adjacent areas of the southeast U.S. by mid- to late-week, the center said.
The Associated Press
