A Hurricane Watch means that hurricane conditions are possible within the watch area, generally within 48 hours.
At 5:00 pm, Tropical Storm Gonzalo was centered near 9.8 North, 49.4 West or about 8 10 miles (1305 km) east of the Southern Windward Islands, moving westward near 13 mph (20 km/h) with maximum sustained winds near 60 mph (95 km/h) with higher gusts and minimum central pressure 1000 mb (29.53 inches).
Possible impacts:
Gonzalo is a tiny tropical storm, with tropical-storm-force winds extending outward up to 25 miles (35 km) from the center. Hurricane conditions could possibly spread across our islands by late Saturday.
Showers and thunderstorms could increase across SVG during Friday and continue Saturday, as ‘Gonzalo’ crosses the Southern Windward Islands. Rainfall accumulations near 3 – 4 inches (75 – 100 millimeters) with greater amounts in isolated areas could result in life-threatening flash-flooding in low-lying areas.
Large easterly swells of 3.0 to 4.0 meters (10 – 13 feet) are also likely across our islands late Saturday. These will create unsafe conditions for small-craft operators and sea-bathers.
The Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Meteorological Services continues to monitor Tropical Storm Gonzalo
and will provide updates as necessary.
