NEWS RELEASE

Thursday August 17, 2017 at 7:00 p.m.

SPECIAL MARINE ADVISORY ON TROPICAL STORM HARVEY

Tropical Storm Harvey, now located 400 km east of Barbados, is forecast to enter the Caribbean Sea by Friday afternoon and move westward into the central Caribbean with little change in strength through the weekend.

Marine interests, especially small craft operators off Jamaica’s south coast, are urged to exercise extreme caution as Tropical Storm Harvey approaches from the east and be prepared to evacuate at short notice, should this become necessary.

Current projections are for winds from the northeast to begin affecting south-eastern offshore waters by Saturday night, averaging 20 knots and gusting between 25 and 30 knots; widely scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms are also in the forecast for Sunday.

Although the centre of Tropical Storm Harvey is forecast to pass more than 300 km to the south of the Pedro Cays, there is still the chance, albeit low, that the system could be nudged farther northward and move directly over the Pedro Cays on Sunday afternoon. In this case, tropical storm-force wind speeds would be experienced.

The Meteorological Service will continue to monitor Tropical Storm Harvey.

CDJ