The National Hurricane Center said Tropical Storm Don formed in the Atlantic Ocean east of the Windward Islands late Monday afternoon.
At 5 pm Eastern Time on Monday, the storm was located about 595 miles east of Trinidad or 485 miles east-southeast of Barbados, with maximum sustained winds of 40 miles an hour. Currently, Don is moving to the west at 17 miles per hour with a minimum central pressure of 1009 millibars or 29.80 inches of mercury. Sustained tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 25 miles from the center of circulation of Don.
The government of Trinidad and Tobago has issued a Tropical Storm Warning for Grenada in advance of Don.
The government of Barbados has issued a Tropical Storm Watch for Barbados and for St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The government of St. Lucia has also issued a Tropical Storm Watch for St. Lucia.
A tropical storm warning means tropical storm conditions -- with sustained winds in excess of 40 mph -- are expected somewhere within the warned area within the next 24-to-36 hours. A tropical storm watch means tropical storm conditions are possible in the watch area within the next 24-to-36 hours.
Forecasters said Tropical Storm Don is expected to continue on its westward path through the day on Monday, with a gradual increase in forward speed. On this track, the tropical storm is expected to move through the Windward Islands late Tuesday and Tuesday night.
Tropical Storm Don is expected to produce total rainfall accumulations of 2-to-4 inches across much of the Windward Islands as it passes through the island chain.
