Grace was hardly done thrashing the Caribbean when it set its sights on a new country: Mexico. The National Hurricane Center is forecasting that Grace could be near hurricane-level strength by the time it approaches the Yucatan coast of Mexico this week.
This morning, Haiti was continuing to deal with heavy rains, landslides, and flooding from Tropical Storm Grace. As of the 2:00 p.m. advisory from the NHC, Grace was 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Montego Bay, Jamaica, moving to the west at 15 kph (24 kph), with sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph).
Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 70 miles from the center. In his report, Kingston, Jamaica reported a wind gust of 46 mph, Hurricane Specialist Richard Pasch wrote.
“Regardless of Grace’s exact intensity right now, the immediate threat is still torrential rainfall across western Hispaniola today and over Jamaica this afternoon and tonight, which will likely cause severe flooding in some locations,” Pasch wrote earlier Tuesday.
Tropical Storm watches were in effect for portions of Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, and the Cayman Islands on Tuesday. Hurricane watches were also in effect for the Yucatan Peninsula on Tuesday morning.
Right now, tropical storm conditions are spreading over Jamaica. The country’s meteorological service said between four and six inches of rain could fall, which risked causing major flooding and landslides.
“As Grace pulls away from Jamaica and nears the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, the tropical storm will go through an area of warmer water and, eventually, lesser wind shear said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Rob Miller.
