Danny Forecasted To Be Tropical Depression When It Arrives To VI On Monday

At 11 p.m., the center of Tropical Storm Danny was located near latitude 15.6 North, longitude 54.7 West or about 680 miles southeast of the Virgin Islands, according to a joint press release issued by VITEMA and Government House.

Danny is moving toward the west near 15 miles per hour, and this general motion is expected to continue through Sunday night.  A turn toward the west-northwest is forecast on Monday.  On the forecast track, the center of Danny is expected to be near the Leeward Islands Sunday night or Monday morning.

Tropical Storm Watches remain posted for Antiqua, Barbuda, Montserrat, St. Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Martin, Guadeloupe and St. Barths.

Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 60 miles per hour with higher gusts but additional weakening is forecast during the next 48 hours. Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 60 miles from the center.

Satellite imagery and data from an earlier NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft mission indicate that Danny has continued to quickly weaken. The center has become exposed to deep convection due to moderate southwesterly wind shear and dry air. Danny is expected to remain within a hostile and this should result in additional weakening.

According to the National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office at San Juan, based on current projections, Danny is expected to weaken in the next 12 to 24 hours to a tropical depression with sustained winds of 30 to 35 miles per hour.

The tropical depression, at its closest point, is expected brush the eastern end of the St. Croix at approximately 8 p.m. on Monday. Intermittent rains from the outer bands of the system may begin to affect St. Croix on Monday afternoon and become more frequent. The bulk of rain is forecasted to occur overnight into Tuesday morning, according to Ernesto Rodriquez, NWS meteorologist and oceanographer.

“The cluster of thunderstorms will spread out so we continue to expect rainfall accumulation of between 1 to 3 inches – maximum 4 inches – for period of 12 to 18 hours, beginning late Monday afternoon,” Rodriquez said. “The bulk of the moisture should be moving out of the US Virgin Islands by Tuesday afternoon.” 

VITEMA is encouraging to the community to continue to monitor this system.

NOAA and U.S. Air Force Reserve reconnaissance have scheduled missions into Danny and will provide more precise data for the next complete advisory at 5 a.m. today.