Tropical Storm Emily Could Threaten Florida

Tropical Storm Emily formed Monday in the Caribbean Sea about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of the island of Dominica, says Bloomberg News, and is expected to take a turn over the next couple of days that could bring it to Florida.

According to an advisory issued by the National Hurricane Center before 8 p.m. New York time, Emily was located about 350 miles southeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, traveling west at 17 mph. The storm, with maximum sustained winds at 40 mph, is expected to head northwest across the Caribbean Sea toward the Bahamas and possibly Florida, according to computer projections posted on the website Weather Underground Inc.

The advisory says the center of Emily will move across the northeastern Caribbean Sea tonight and approach the island of Hispaniola as early as tomorrow night.

"It could be impacting the Florida peninsula this weekend," said Andy Mussoline, a meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc.

Tropical storm watches were issued for the Dominican Republic, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Haiti and the islands of St. Kitts, Nevis, Monstserrat and Antigua.

"Tropical storm conditions are possible in the watch area in the windward islands tonight, in the U.S. Virgin Islands by tonight and early tomorrow, and in Haiti by Wednesday," the Hurricane Center said in its advisory.

Mussoline said Tropical Storm Emily may grow into at least a Category 1 hurricane, with winds of at least 74 mph on the five-step Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.