Tropical Storm Selma made landfall on the coast of El Salvador on Saturday with strong winds, heavy rains and dangerous ocean swells, while another system developing in the Caribbean was on a forecast path taking it toward Cuba and then Florida….
Tropical Storm Selma made landfall on the coast of El Salvador on Saturday with strong winds, heavy rains and dangerous ocean swells, while another system developing in the Caribbean was on a forecast path taking it toward Cuba and then Florida.
The US National Hurricane Centre said Selma hit El Salvador’s coast in the morning before losing strength over land, weakening to a tropical depression with maximum sustained winds of 35mph (55kph). The storm’s centre was located about 45 miles (75 kilometres) east of San Salvador, and it was heading northeast at 8mph (13kph).
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The centre said Selma was “expected to produce torrential rains and flash floods through Sunday,” and Salvadoran Civil Defence director Jorge Melendez said the rainfall would be “strong and intense.”
Salvadoran authorities reported some damage including mudslides, trees that toppled onto roads and rivers threatening to top their banks.
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In the Caribbean Sea, meanwhile, Tropical Depression Eighteen formed south of Cuba with winds of 35mph (55kph). It was centred about 80 miles (130 kilometres) south of Havana and moving toward the north-northeast at 25mph (41kph). Further strengthening was expected.
The hurricane centre said the depression was “producing heavy rains across central Cuba and spreading northward over the Florida Keys and South Florida.”
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The storm’s centre was forecast to pass over Cuba in the afternoon and near the Keys overnight.
Tropical storm warnings were in place for parts of Cuba and the Bahamas, and a tropical storm watch was issued for the upper Keys and parts of southeastern Florida.
Heavy rains were expected for the Cayman Islands, western and central Cuba and the northern Bahamas. The centre forecast about 2 to 4 inches of rain with higher localised accumulations and possible flash floods in South Florida.
