Oh well. . . Que sera, sera.
Tropical Storm Mitch Hits Caribbean
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Filed at 5:35 p.m. EDT
By The Associated Press
MIAMI (AP) -- Tropical Storm Mitch lost some of its robustness Friday and began to
meander toward an uncertain future over the western Caribbean, while a disturbance over in
the Gulf of Mexico appeared to be stirring toward tropical storm tendencies, forecasters said.
Little movement was expected from Mitch as the system became less organized, said Lixion
Avila, a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
''We thought it was going to turn into a hurricane today but it hasn't yet,'' Avila said.
Although no tropical storm warnings or watches had been issued, forecasters urged people in
the western Caribbean to closely monitor the storm.
Mitch emerged from a large area of disturbed weather when it became a tropical
depression on Wednesday.
By early Friday, Mitch had top sustained winds near 60 mph, with higher gusts, and appeared
to be on its way to hurricane strength, but it began faltering later in the morning.
At 11 a.m. EDT, Tropical Storm Mitch was centered near 12.7 north latitude and 77.9 west
longitude, or roughly 370 miles south of Kingston, Jamaica.
Mitch was erratic and barely moving although its tropical storm-force winds extended 60
miles out from its center, forecasters said.
To be considered a hurricane, a tropical storm's top sustained winds must reach at least 74
mph. |
