Report from Cuba on Tropical Storm Earl

Tropical Storm Earl at 5:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Graphic: National Hurricane Center
Tropical Storm Earl at 5:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Graphic: National Hurricane Center

HAVANA TIMES — The Cuban Weather Institute (INSMET) is reporting this afternoon that Tropical Storm Earl, which formed in the morning in the western Caribbean near Jamaica and well south of Cuba, is moving west and gaining slightly in organization and intensity.

At 6:00 p.m. Cuban time (ET) Earl is packing 50 mph winds and has a minimum central pressure of 1002 millibars while moving west at a speed of 18 m/ph (28 k/ph), said INSMET.

In the report released at the top of the hour, the center of Earl was located at 710 kilometers (441 miles) east of Belize and 320 kilometers (198 miles) south of Gran Caiman.

Over the next 12 to 24 hours, the system is expected to move in the same direction over the Gulf of Honduras, slowing its speed and gaining more in organization and intensity.

The next tropical cyclone warning will be issued at 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday.