Tropical Storm Tammy formed in the Atlantic Wednesday, leading to storm watches at multiple islands.
Tammy had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph as it moved west at 23 mph about 625 miles east of the Windward Islands, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Wednesday.
Tropical storm watches were issued for Barbados, Dominica, and Martinique and Guadeloupe.
Gradual strengthening was expected over the next couple days but it was too early to tell whether Tammy could strengthen into a hurricane.
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Heavy rains from Tammy will begin to impact the northern Windward and Leeward Islands on Friday, spreading into the British and U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico over the weekend, the NHC said. The rainfall could produce isolated flash and urban flooding, along with isolated mudlsides in areas of higher terrain.
The forecast cone showed Tammy eventually turning toward the northwest and then north and staying far east of Florida.
Tammy is the 19th named storm of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season, which officially ends on Nov. 30.
