Tropical Storm Isaias Floods Part Of Puerto Rico As It Heads Toward Florida

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A satellite image from Thursday morning shows Tropical Storm Isaias looming over Puerto Rico and the Domincan Republic. The storm is predicted to drench Florida over the weekend.

NOAA/NESDIS/STAR GOES-East

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NOAA/NESDIS/STAR GOES-East

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Tropical Storm Isaias is predicted to pass over the Dominican Republic and then shadow Florida’s Atlantic coast.

National Weather Service

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National Weather Service

Tropical Storm Isaias is predicted to pass over the Dominican Republic and then shadow Florida’s Atlantic coast.

National Weather Service

The storm’s maximum sustained winds are at 60 mph, with higher gusts. To be deemed a hurricane, Isaias’s sustained winds would need to reach at least 74 mph. Forecasters say that while the system will weaken as it passing over the Dominican Republic later today, but Isaias will likely re-strengthen on Friday and Saturday.

Isaias has triggered tropical storm warnings for a number of islands in the Caribbean, from the Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to the Turks and Caicos and parts of the Bahamas.

The system had been steaming on a mostly west-northwest tack — but early Thursday, it took a sharper direction to the northwest. It’s now predicted to skirt Florida’s Atlantic coast, passing close to West Palm Beach and Port St. Lucie.

The current track doesn’t call for Isaias to make a potential landfall on the U.S. mainland until it glances by North Carolina’s northern coast — meaning the storm’s heavy rains could pose a dangerous flooding threat to low-lying areas along the U.S. southeastern coast.

Concerns about the storm’s impact on Florida prompted officials to suspend coronavirus testing at state facilities for several days, from Friday through at least Tuesday.

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