The 19th named storm of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season is expected to strengthen to hurricane status tomorrow before passing between Haiti and Cuba.
According to modeler Risk Management Solutions (RMS), Tomas is currently a tropical storm with winds of 50 mph; it was upgraded from a tropical depression as of yesterday, and is located in the north Caribbean Sea. The storm poses a heavy rain threat to Haiti and the Dominican Republic, said Margaret Joseph, catastrophe response analyst for RMS.
A hurricane warning is in effect for Haiti, the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands and a tropical storm is in effect for Jamaica.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said dangerous storm surge of 1 to 3 feet above normal is possible in the warning areas, with large and destructive waves.
Rainfall accumulations of 5 to 10 inches are expected over Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the NHC said.
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