The fourth tropical storm of the Atlantic Hurricane Season formed Sunday morning out of a tropical depression about 1,050 miles east of the Virgin Islands. As a result of Tropical Storm Debby's formation, hurricane watches may be posted for the northern Leeward Islands and perhaps the Virgin Islands before the end of the day.
At 11 a.m. Sunday, the center of Tropical Storm Debby was located near 14.3 degrees north latitude, 49.7 degrees west longitude and maintained a west-northwest motion at 18 miles per hour. The National Hurricane Center's projected forecast would take Debby on a path between St. John and the British Virgin Islands around daybreak Tuesday, according to meteorologist Alan Archer. He noted the storm center has been "jogging" to the north with every advisory since it became a tropical depression on Saturday afternoon. "Where it was forecast to pass first to the south of St. Croix, then to the south of St. Thomas, we're seeing Debby moving north of St. John on Tuesday morning," he said during a broadcast interview on Sunday.
But he cautioned that because Debby has a lot of showers and thundershowers associated with it, St. Thomas and St. Croix should experience significant rain and gusty winds beginning at midnight Monday. Archer estimated those winds on the order of 50 miles an hour sustained with gusts to around hurricane strength.
Satellite photos late Sunday morning estimate wind speeds of 45 miles-per-hour with higher gusts to the north and east of the center. A reconnaissance "hurricane hunter" aircraft will fly through the storm on Monday to obtain a better measurement of the intensity of Tropical Storm Debby. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1003 millibars or 29.62 inches.
The next advisory will be issued by the National Hurricane Center at 5 p.m. Sunday.