Elsa has strengthened into a hurricane as it and moves rapidly into the Caribbean with Florida in its path. By Sunday, Elsa is forecast to move near Jamaica and portions of eastern Cuba and is likely to remain a hurricane, AccuWeather said this morning.
At 7:45 a.m. on Friday, the center of Hurricane Elsa was located 20 miles west-southwest of Barbados. Elsa is moving toward the west-northwest near 28 mph and that motion is expected to continue for the next couple of days, according to forecasters, according to Wesh.
Elsa is expected to pass near or over portions of the Windward Islands or the southern Leeward Islands on Friday, move into the eastern Caribbean Sea late Friday and Friday night, and move near the southern coast of Hispaniola on Saturday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Forecasters said Friday morning that the maximum sustained winds increased to near 75 mph with higher gusts. Some additional strengthening is forecast over the next 12 to 24 hours.
Over Puerto Rico, rainfall of 1 to 3 inches with localized amounts of 5 inches is expected Friday into Saturday. This rain may lead to isolated flash flooding and minor river flooding, along with the potential for mudslides, according to the NHC.
