Tropical Storm Meanders Over Atlantic

The National Hurricane Center in Miami says little change in that strength is expected over the next 48 hours.

Tropical Storm Ida is not a threat to Jamaica.

Ida meandering over the central tropical Atlantic Ocean.

Maximum sustained winds remain near 75 km/h with higher gusts. “This pattern is the outcome of 30 knots of west-northwesterly [wind] shear”.

At 10 p.m., Ida was located about 1,075 miles east-northeast of the Northern Leeward Islands.

No watches or warnings have been issued for the storm. A slow eastward drift is expected to continue today, followed by a gradual turn toward the north-northwest on Thursday.

This one wasn’t tropical, but forecasters left open the possibility that it could acquire some subtropical characteristics as it moves westward slowly over the next few days. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1005 millibars.

Late last month, Tropical Storm Erika, with winds of 45 miles per hour, tore into Dominica, killing at least 31 people and leaving more than EC$600 million in damages.