It's going to get wet in Antigua.
Tropical Storm Chris, the third named storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, developed early Tuesday near the Leeward Islands, forecasters said.We knew the lull wouldn't last, but it doesn't look like we need to batten down here in South Florida.
Chris had sustained winds near 40 miles per hour, just above the threshold for a tropical storm, according to the National Hurricane Center.
A tropical storm warning was posted for the islands of Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla, St. Kitts, Nevis, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Barthelemy and St. Martin.
A tropical storm watch was issued for Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.
At 5 a.m., Chris was centered about 175 miles east of Antigua and was moving west-northwest near 9 mph, forecasters said. The storm was on track to pass over or near the northernmost Leeward Islands by early Wednesday, according to the hurricane center. The area where the warning was issued was in the open Atlantic about 1,100 miles southeast of Miami.
An aircraft was expected to fly into the region Tuesday and get a better estimate on the storm. It was not expected to form into a hurricane, forecasters said.
"We don't anticipate this system will explode and become a hurricane or anything like that," said Stacy Stewart, hurricane specialist. "This type of storm is not going to be a significant wind producer, but it will produce heavy rainfall because it is moving slow, which could produce flash flooding and mud slides."
