Sunday evening, according to the National Hurricane Center, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Leeward Islands could get significant rainfall that might lead to flooding from Tropical Storm Earl.
The storm, which had winds of 50 mph as of 11 a.m. EDT on Sunday, is expected to pass to the north of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
The National Hurricane Center predicts that Earl will deliver total rainfall levels of 2 to 4 inches, with isolated totals of 6 inches, across the Leeward Islands, U.S. and British Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico on Sunday. Possible flash flooding and mudslides are limited.
NOAA Tropical Storm Earl
Earl is now one of two named storms in the Atlantic. The second named storm of the 2022 season, Hurricane Danielle, is positioned in the northern Atlantic. The National Hurricane Center stated that the storm’s slow movement posed little threat to land.
August 2022 marked the first period in 25 years that there was no named storm in the Atlantic, but September 11 is typically the height of hurricane season. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) published an updated advisory at the beginning of August predicting an above-average season, with 14 to 20 named storms likely by November 30. Six to ten of these storms could develop into hurricanes, and three to five of those could become major hurricanes, categorized as category 3 or stronger.