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Tropical Storm Bret Projected to Strengthen Into Hurricane, Continue Westward Path
Weather forecasters with the National Hurricane Center on Tuesday at 5:00 a.m. confirmed that Tropical Storm Bret continues its path westward, with anticipations of system gaining strength over the coming days. Officials have reiterated their cautionary advice to the Lesser Antilles — including the USVI and PR — to keep a watchful eye on the storm's progress.
The update pinpointed the center of Bret near latitude 11.7 North, longitude 44.7 West. This places the storm approximately 1130 miles (1815 kilometers) east of the southern Windward Islands.
Bret is currently traveling westward at a speed of around 17 miles per hour (28 kilometers per hour). It is predicted to maintain this general direction and pace over the next few days. As such, on its forecast track, Bret is expected to approach the Lesser Antilles by the end of this week.
Mariangelis Marrero-Colón, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Puerto Rico, said the current track has the system moving just south of the local islands by the end of the workweek into the weekend. "However, uncertainty is really high with this system, and adjustments are likely with future advisories," she added.
Although the storm maintains its maximum sustained winds at approximately 40 miles per hour (65 kilometers per hour), experts believe that Bret could intensify into a hurricane within the next few days. Tropical-storm-force winds currently extend outward up to 45 miles (75 kilometers) from the center of the storm.
