Stormy weather in the tropics
Hurricane forecasters are watching two areas of stormy weather in the tropics. Neither one is given much chance of developing into a tropical storm in the next 48 hours - just 20 percent. But they are expected to produce plenty of gusty winds and heavy rain for islands in their path, including Haiti.
The first disturbance is located near the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. It was stirring up showers and thunderstorms as it drifted west-northwest at 10 to 15 mph. Gusty winds and locally heavy rains were forecast for the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti, where hundreds of thousands of people displaced by last winter's earthquake remain in flimsy shelters.
The second area of stormy weather is located in the central and western Caribbean Sea. It was moving westward at 10 to 15 mph with showers and thunderstorms, but posed no immediate threat to major land masses. Stay tuned.
