ROUGH AND HAZARDOUS SEA CONDITIONS CONTINUE TODAY

 

CRUZ BAY — All ferries remained tied up in The Creek this morning, Friday, August 28 as the center of Tropical Storm Erika moves away from the territory.\

 

A Tropical Storm Warning and a Flash Flood Watch remains in effect through this morning.

At 5 a.m., the center of Tropical Storm Erika was located near latitude 17.7 North, longitude 67.7 West. Erika is moving toward the west-northwest near 17 miles per hour. The center of Erika is now moving away from the US Virgin Islands.

St. Croix reported a wind gust of 62 miles per hour late last night. There have been no other reports of tropical storm force winds. There is still wind gusts of over 30 miles per hour reported in US Virgin Islands.

Based on latest data/forecast models:

–Rough seas and hazardous marine conditions continue today. As of 10 p.m. AST buoy 41052 south of St. John is currently at around 10 feet and buoy 41051 south of St. Thomas is also currently at around 10 feet. Seas at buoy 42085 south of Ponce reached over 9 feet at 4 a.m. Seas will gradually improve today.

–Rainfall is gradually diminishing but significant showers are still possible through the morning hours, especially over Puerto Rico. Additional rainfall amounts are expected to be up to 1 inch across the US Virgin Islands.

–US Geological Survey rain-gauges indicate that some areas received 3 to 4.5 inches of rain over the eastern portions of PR, while St. Croix USVI received close to 2 inches of rain.

-Winds are also gradually diminishing but some areas in Puerto Rico are still reporting Tropical Storm force winds and gusts. Winds gusts over the USVI are currently about 30-35 mph and will gradually diminish during the next several hours.