Cuba Weather Experts Tracking TS Erika

By Circles Robinson

HAVANA TIMES, Sept. 1 – Cuban weather forecasters began tracking Tropical Storm Erika with their first advisory coming at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

The fifth tropical storm of the season in the Atlantic was located by the Cuban Meteorological Institute at 480 kilometers east of the island of Barbuda to the north of the Lesser Antilles, with maximum sustained winds of 85 kph (50 mph) with a central pressure of 1,007 millibars.

Erika is moving on a west-northwest course at 15 kph (9 mph).  Its current estimated path would take it north of the Bahamas, and a considerable distance from Cuba.

Meanwhile, powerful hurricane Jimena with 125-mph winds, is headed for a landing on the east-central coast of Baja California some time late Wednesday or early Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the eye of Jimena is expected to pass “well to the west of Cabo San Lucas, and will probable not cause major damage to well-built structures in that sprawling resort city at Baja’s tip.”