The National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm watch for the Virgin Islands at 5 p.m. Wednesday, meaning it is possible Tropical Storm Erika will reach the islands within the next 36 hours.
"It’s a minimal tropical storm and could become a depression before it reaches the islands," Shawn Rossi, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in San Juan, said.
According to Rossi, the main concern will be rain. He said three to five inches of rain could fall on the islands.
However, he reminded residents that conditions could change at any time. Just 24 hours earlier the storm had been expected to pass well to the north of the territory.
Rossi expects it to start raining on St. Croix by late Thursday morning and on St. Thomas and St. John by early afternoon.
As of 5 p.m. Wednesday Erika was on a track that would bring the center 10 miles south of St. Croix around 6 p.m. Thursday.
The center of the storm is expected to pass 49 miles south of St. Thomas and 55 miles south of St. John, both at around 6 p.m.
As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, winds were at 40 mph with higher gusts. Tropical storm force winds extended outward 205 miles from the center. The center of the storm was 220 miles southeast of St. Croix and about 250 miles southeast of St. Thomas and St. John. Erika was centered at 16.4 degrees north latitude and 61.7 degrees west longitude. It was moving west northwest at 10 mph.
Hurricane Hole on St. John was opened as a safe haven for boaters, Rafe Boulon, chief of resource management at V.I. National Park said early Wednesday.
"Once it got a name, it was open," he said of Erika.
The Planning and Natural Resources Department designated Benner Bay, Mandahl Pond and Flamingo Bay as boater safe havens on St. Thomas. On St. Croix, Salt River is the safe haven.
The V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency went on alert, Director Mark Walters said Wednesday morning, adding that although a tropical storm is expected, the agency prepared for a hurricane.
He had advice for residents.
"Check your personal preparedness," he said.
Walters urged residents to have enough supplies on hand for 72 hours, though he said he encourages them to be prepared for a longer period of time.
He also said that although Erika probably won’t be a strong wind event, people should pick up debris around their yards so it doesn’t become airborne.
And like Rossi, he reminded residents that Erika could change in strength or go in a different direction at the last minute. This would leave unprepared residents vulnerable.
"It’s the weather we’re talking about," he said.
The U.S. Coast Guard began sending out press releases late Tuesday warning mariners to be on the alert. By Wednesday morning, with Erika’s track shifting closer to the Virgin Islands, the Coast Guard put the territory’s ports on condition X-Ray. This means a storm is possible within 48 hours. Condition Yankee will be the next step.
"It’s Yankee when we anticipate a storm is coming in 24 hours. When you see Yankee, it’s getting close," Coast Guard spokesman Ricardo Castrodad said.
Condition Zulu, also known as Zebra, is when the storm is about to hit. He said the ports will close, but the port captain may let the ferries go back and forth between St. Thomas and St. John for a few more hours until it becomes unsafe to do so.
He explained that from December though May, the ports are Condition 5. During the June 1 through Nov. 30 hurricane season, they go to Condition 4. If a storm is expected within 72 hours, the ports are on Condition Whiskey.
Castrodad also urged recreational boaters to stay in port.
"It’s not the time to start venturing out," he said.
