PORT ROYAL, Jamaica —
Tropical Storm Ernesto brushed past the Caribbean country’s southern coast Sunday, causing heavy rains but few problems as it took a course expected to carry it by Honduras and across the Yucatan Peninsula into the Gulf of Mexico.
Forecasters at Jamaica’s Meteorological Service said rain was tapering off but light to moderate showers from squalls were still present over most of the island, especially eastern areas.
In Jamaica’s southern capital of Kingston, Ernesto dumped some rain but left no noticeable damage.
Island authorities urged people in flood-prone areas to stay on alert and urged fishermen on outlying cays and banks to remain in safe harbors on the main island.
As the storm’s outer bands approached earlier, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller called on all Jamaicans to make the necessary preparations to ensure their safety.
“I urge you to especially consider the children, the sick, persons with disabilities, the elderly, and the most vulnerable in the society,” she said.
Daniel Edwards, a dreadlocked fisherman in Port Royal, a small fishing village at the tip of a spit of land near Kingston’s airport, said vigorous lightning lit up the sky over the sea late Saturday and early Sunday.
Bailing out his small wooden fishing boat next to a dilapidated wooden dock, Edwards said he wasn’t overly concerned by the storm.
“It’s not much of a muchness,” said the veteran fisherman, decked out in rain gear.
Forecasters said Ernesto could begin drenching the coast of Honduras on Monday. It is then expected to move ashore near the Belize-Mexico border Tuesday night and pass into the Gulf of Mexico.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Sunday evening that Ernesto was getting a bit more organized as it moved away from Jamaica. Its forecast said the storm might become a hurricane by late in the week while heading toward the Mexican mainland after crossing over Yucatan.
A tropical storm watch was in effect for the coast of Honduras, from the border with Nicaragua westward to Punta Castilla, and the main island of Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands.
A Cayman government statement urged Grand Cayman residents to monitor the storm but said the storm was not likely to have serious effects on the British Caribbean territory.
The U.S. hurricane center said Ernesto was centered about 245 miles (395 kilometers) east of Cabo Gracias a Dios on the Nicaragua-Honduras border Sunday evening. It had maximum sustained winds near 50 mph (85 kph) and was moving westward at 20 mph (32 kph).
Elsewhere, Tropical Storm Florence, which formed far out in the Atlantic, stopped strengthening by early Sunday and was no longer expected to gain strength, the hurricane center said.
Florence’s top sustained winds had slowed to 50 mph (85 kph) by Sunday afternoon and it was 845 miles (1,335 kilometers) west of the Cape Verde Islands. Forecasters said a gradual weakening of the storm was expected over the next couple of days.
National, International News
Related Photos
-
Clouds gather from the outer bands of Tropical Storm Ernesto on a beach near the airport just outside of Jamaica's capital of Kingston, Jamaica, Sunday Aug. 5, 2012. The Associated Press
Discussion
Jamaica gets rain as Tropical Storm Ernesto passes to south
- National, International News
-
-
Official: Broken rail eyed in Conn. train crash
The commuter train derailment and collision that left dozens injured outside New York City was not the result of foul play, officials said Saturday, but a fractured section of rail is being studied to determine if it is connected to the accident.
-
FBI searches apartment in ricin letter case
Authorities in hazardous materials suits searched a downtown Spokane apartment Saturday, investigating the recent discovery of a pair of letters containing the deadly poison ricin.
-
Up to 60 injured after car drives into Va. parade
An elderly driver plowed into dozens of hikers marching in a Saturday parade in a small Virginia mountain town and investigators were looking into whether he suffered a medical emergency before the accident.
-
Authorities: Hofstra student was killed by police
A Hofstra University student being held in a headlock at gunpoint by an intruder was accidently shot and killed by a police officer who had responded to the home invasion at an off-campus home, police said Saturday.
-
Last-minute fortune seekers buy Powerball tickets
It’s all about the odds.
With four out of every five possible combinations of Powerball numbers in play, someone is almost sure to win the game’s highest jackpot, a windfall of hundreds of millions of dollars — and that’s after taxes. -
Today in History for Sunday, May 19, 2013
Today is Sunday, May 19, the 139th day of 2013. There are 226 days left in the year.
-
Bombs targeting Sunnis kill at least 76 in Iraq
Bombs ripped through Sunni areas in Baghdad and surrounding areas Friday, killing at least 76 people in the deadliest day in Iraq in more than eight months. The major spike in sectarian bloodshed heightened fears the country could again be veering toward civil war.
-
Tornado-ravaged Texas town to start recovery
Residents whose homes were torn apart or blown away by a North Texas deadly tornado can soon return to retrieve what belongings may be left and start cleaning up, authorities said Friday.
-
Conn. commuter trains collide; 60 go to hospitals
Two commuter trains serving New York City collided in Connecticut during Friday’s evening rush hour, sending 60 people to the hospital, including five with critical injuries, Gov. Dannel Malloy said.
-
Record Powerball jackpot inspires office pools
In workplaces across the nation, Americans are inviting their colleagues to chip in $2 for a Powerball ticket and a shared daydream.
- More National, International News Headlines
-
