Tropical Storm Elsa strengthened early Friday morning to become the first hurricane of the 2021 Atlantic season.
As of 11 a.m. ET, the Category 1 storm had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and was five miles north of St. Vincent. It was moving west-northwest at 29 mph.
Hurricane warnings have been issued for St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the southern portion of Haiti. Other places in the storm's projected path, including Martinique, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, are under some form of hurricane watch, tropical storm warning or tropical storm watch.
Elsa is forecast to pass near or over portions of the Windward Islands or the southern Leeward Islands on Friday before entering the Caribbean Sea on Friday night. The storm is expected to pass by the southern coast of Haiti and the Dominican Republic on Saturday and to move near Jamaica and Cuba on Sunday.
As of Friday morning, the greatest risk from Elsa was heavy rainfall, with totals of 4 to 8 inches possible for the Windward and southern Leeward Islands, including Barbados, and 1 to 3 inches in Puerto Rico. Across portions of Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, rainfall of 4 to 8 inches, with isolated maximum amounts of 15 inches, is possible Saturday into Sunday.
Flash flooding, landslides and mudslides are all possible.
The storm could be near Florida early next week. Just how strong will depend on how much it interacts with the land masses of the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba. Rough terrain could weaken the storm if it travels across mountainous regions.
Elsa's fringe impacts, like gusty winds and outer rain bands, could near southern Florida late Sunday and into Monday.
Elsa broke the record Thursday for the earliest fifth-named tropical storm of the season. It rapidly intensified in 24 hours from a 40-mph tropical storm on Thursday morning to a 75-mph hurricane on Friday morning.
It is also an unusually early hurricane. The average date for the first Atlantic hurricane of the season is Aug. 14. Elsa's arrival is three weeks earlier than 2020's Hurricane Hanna, which formed on July 25.
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July 02, 2021 at 11:39PM
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Elsa rapidly intensifies to become the first hurricane of the 2021 Atlantic season - NBC News
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