NEWS RELEASE

Monday, August 14, 2017 at 5:00 p.m.

*** GERT CONTINUES TO STRENGTHEN...EXPECTED TO BECOME A HURRICANE TONIGHT.... ***

At 4:00 p.m. Tropical Storm Gert was located near Latitude 30.6 degrees north and Longitude 72.3 degrees west or about 735 km west-southwest of Bermuda.

Tropical Storm Gert is moving toward the north near 13 km/h. This motion should continue tonight. A turn toward the northeast with an increase in forward speed is expected late Tuesday or Tuesday night.

Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 110 km/h with higher gusts. Additional strengthening is forecast and Gert is expected to become a hurricane tonight.
Tropical Storm Gert is not a threat to Jamaica.

The Meteorological Service will continue to monitor this system.

JKH