Tropical Storm Elsa is expected to affect Grenada and its dependencies, starting Friday morning. As of 8 am Thursday, the country was placed under a Tropical Storm Watch, which means that tropical storm conditions are expected within the next 36 hours.
According to the 11 am update, Tropical Storm Elsa has strengthened and is centred near latitude 10.1° North, longitude 51.4° West, about 680 nautical miles east southeast of Grenada.
The system is moving toward the west near 28 mph (44 km/h). An even faster motion toward the west-northwest is expected over the next 24 to 36 hours. Maximum sustained winds are near 45 mph (75 km/h), with higher gusts expected.
Weather models indicate that the core of the system will pass near or over portions of the Windward Islands or the southern Leeward Islands on Friday, just north of the State of Grenada and, move into the eastern Caribbean Sea late Friday.
Tropical Storm Elsa is expected to bring showers and thundershowers to Grenada and the rest of the Windward Islands on Friday.
Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique can expect cloudy to overcast conditions with showers (which may become heavy) and thundershowers accompanied by gusty winds by Friday morning into Saturday. The likelihood of significant impacts is greater for the sister isles of Carriacou and Petite Martinique.
The emergency meeting of the National Emergency Advisory Council (NEAC) on Thursday morning agreed that they will be further guided by the 5 pm advisory.
In keeping with our mandate to ensure the safety of all, members of the marine and fishing communities are encouraged to take the necessary steps to secure their vessels, as the forecast from the Meteorological Office is predicting waves of 10 to 15 feet. Farmers are advised to secure animals and equipment and homeowners should secure outdoor items that can be become missiles.
Additional preparedness activities such as the cleaning of gutters, checking of roofs and storing of important documents in closed plastic containers to avoid the effects of floodwaters, are also advised.
NaDMA, on the advice from the Meteorological Office will continue to monitor the system and provide timely updates.
NaDMA, the official source for all disaster-related information in Grenada.
