ORLANDO, Fla. – Hurricane Fiona transitioned from tropical storm to Category 1 Sunday as its eye approached the southwest coast of Puerto Rico.
As of 11 p.m. Sunday, the hurricane was packing 85 mph maximum sustained winds with gusts reaching 105 mph and was moving WNW at 10 mph. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 140 miles from the center of the storm and hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 30 miles from center. The storm is 45 miles south-southeast of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic with the The eye of Fiona nearing the southeast coast late Sunday evening.
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Hurricane Fiona is now moving just west of Puerto Rico and heading for eastern Dominican Republic causing catastrophic flooding.
Fiona’s center will continue to pass near or over southwestern and western Puerto Rico Sunday afternoon and evening. Fiona will then move near the northern coast of the Dominican Republic Sunday night and Monday, and near or to the east of the Turks and Caicos Islands on Tuesday.
Life-threatening flooding and mudslides are in the forecast for Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic as Fiona has now intensified to a hurricane. The track has shifted a little more east, pushing it to the eastern portion of the Dominican Republic in the forecast cone. As it moves away into the Atlantic, it could strengthen to a Category 2 hurricane by the middle of the work week and a Category 3 by its end.
A hurricane warning has been extended to the eastern half of the Dominican Republic from Cabo Caucedo to Cabo Frances Viejo. Warnings for Puerto Rico continue as well as hurricane watches for the US Virgin Islands and British Virgin Islands.
While there is still some uncertainty long-term in the eventual path of Fiona, it continues to look likely that the storm will lift north early next work week and stay well east of Florida.
On the forecast track Fiona will continue on a northwest path through tomorrow before making a projected NNW turn on Tuesday. The center of Fiona will move near the northern coast of D.R. tonight and Monday and near or to the east of Turks and Caicos Islands Tuesday.
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Elsewhere in the Atlantic, another area of low pressure has a low chance for development. This disturbance is located east of the Leeward Islands and is expected to lift northward into the open waters of the Central Atlantic. Chances for development into a tropical cyclone are forecast at 20% over the next five days, and it does not pose a threat to Florida.
The next named storm will be Gaston.
Hurricane season ends Dec. 1.