SUMMARY OF 1100 AM EDT…1500 UTC…INFORMATION
LOCATION…15.1N 79.7W
ABOUT 235 MI…375 KM E OF CABO GRACIAS A DIOS ON NIC/HON BORDER
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS…35 MPH…55 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT…W OR 280 DEGREES AT 21 MPH…33 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE…1007 MB…29.74 INCHES
WATCHES AND WARNINGS
A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for…
* Honduras/Nicaragua border westward to Punta Castilla Honduras
* Bay Islands of Honduras
Additional watches or warnings, including for the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, may be required later today.
DISCUSSION AND OUTLOOK
At 1100 AM EDT (1500 UTC), the center of Tropical Depression Fourteen was located near latitude 15.1 North, longitude 79.7 West. The depression is moving toward the west near 21 mph (33 km/h), and a westward motion is expected to continue through this evening. A turn toward the west-northwest and northwest with a decrease in forward speed is forecast tonight and Friday, with a general northwest motion continuing through at least Sunday. On the forecast track, the center of the system will move near or just north of the northeastern coast of Honduras and the Bay Islands on Friday and will approach the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico on Saturday. The center is then expected to cross the Yucatan Peninsula Saturday night and move into the south-central Gulf of Mexico on Sunday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph (55 km/h) with higher gusts. Strengthening is forecast during the next couple of days, and the depression is expected to become a tropical storm later today or tonight. The system could be near or at hurricane strength when it reaches the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico late Saturday.
The estimated minimum central pressure is 1007 MB (29.74 inches).
HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND
WIND: Tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area tonight and on Friday.
RAINFALL: The depression is expected to produce 1 to 2 inches of rain across Jamaica and northern Nicaragua, and 2 to 4 inches over portions of Honduras through Saturday.
Information taken from the latest National Hurricane Center Public Advisory as of 10:00 am.
