ST JOHN’S, Antigua, Aug 23 2015 – Tropical storm watches have been issued for Antigua, Barbuda, St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Anguilla, St. Maarten, Saba, St. Eustatius, Guadeloupe, St. Barthelemy and St. Martin as a weakening tropical Storm Danny swirled toward the region.
The approaching storm forced Antigua-based airline LIAT to cancel nearly more than 40 flights from Sunday to Tuesday, and officials with regional carrier Seaborne Airlines also warned of delays and cancelations.
Several cruise ships scheduled to visit a number of countries have cancelled or delayed their trips.
Late Saturday night, Danny was located 480 miles (775 kilometers) east of the Leeward Islands, with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. It was traveling west at 15 mph (24 kph).
The hurricane center said it expected Danny to be near the Leeward Islands by Sunday night or Monday morning, and reach Puerto Rico early Tuesday.
“The biggest threats to land are the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Hispaniola,” said hurricane center specialist Robbie Berg.
Meteorologists said it was too early to predict how much rainfall Danny would generate.
“This storm has created a lot of expectations,” said Carlos Anselmi with the National Weather Service in San Juan. “But we cannot talk about how much rainfall is expected because the storm is quite small. There’s a lot of uncertainty still.”
