Tomas Expected To Hit Haiti As A Hurricane

Tomas is expected to strengthen to a category 1 hurricane by the time it makes landfall in Haiti on Friday. The storm weakened to a tropical depression early Wednesday after hitting St. Lucia over the weekend as a category 1 hurricane. The island’s Prime Minister Stephenson King said the death toll rose Tuesday to 12.

The National Hurricane Center reported as of 5 a.m. Wednesday Tomas had 55 mph winds. The storm was moving west-northwest at 5mph about 410 miles south-southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. To become a hurricane, Tomas must have at least 74 mph winds.

The center also warned that Tomas poses a “significant threat” Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. Jamaican authorities issued a hurricane watch Tuesday afternoon.

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