BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) — Caribbean countries are monitoring the progress of a weather system that was likely to become a tropical storm last night.

The Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that tropical storm warnings have already gone into effect for several countries, including Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and the Dominican Republic, while a tropical storm watch was in effect for Saba and St Eustatius, Haiti, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and south-eastern Bahamas.

In its latest weather bulletin at 11:00 am the NHC said that the system was about 160 miles west of the French island of Guadeloupe with maximum sustained winds of 35 miles per hour (mph).

“The system is moving towards the west-northwest near 18 mph and this general motion is expected to continue during the next few days. On the forecast track, the disturbance is expected to pass near or over the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico last night, be near or over Hispaniola on Wednesday [today], and be near the south-eastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands Thursday,” the NHC added.

It said reports from a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hurricane hunter aircraft indicated that maximum sustained winds were near 35 mph with higher gusts.

“However, the aircraft did not find a well-defined closed circulation. Gradual strengthening is forecast during the next day or so and the disturbance is expected to become a tropical storm.”