Residents in some Eastern Caribbean islands are tonight battened down in their homes as they wait out the passage of Tropical Storm Dorian.

An 8 p.m. advisory from the Barbados Meteorological Service indicated that TS Dorian was centred near 13.0N, 59.1W which means that the center of the system is about now, passing to the south of Barbados.

Maximum sustained winds are near 60 mph (95km/h), with tropical-storm-force winds extending outward up to 45 miles (75 km) from the center. The minimum central pressure has increased to 1007mb (29.74 inches). The system continues to move towards the west-northwest at 14 mph (22 km/h).

The Met Office said that cloudy to overcast skies and scattered showers had already started to affect the island, with pockets of moderate to heavy showers, periods of rain and scattered thunderstorms still expected as the night progresses.

Residents across the island were also reporting strong gusts, lightning and some occasional rainfall.