Daily Forecast: St. Maarten-St. Eustatius-Saba (SSS Islands)

Today's Weather Update As of Sunday, 21 August, 2011 - 9:00am.

Almanac 2011: 233 days in, 132 days remaining Hurricane Season: 82 days in, 102 days remaining  Today's Temps High: 86F/30C, feels like 88F/31C Low: 78F/26C, feels like 82F/28C Local Weather Cloudy & Windy with showers (some heavy) and a thunderstorm or two. The approaching tropical wave developed into Tropical Storm Irene (see details below) and has begun affecting the local region of the SSS (and surrounding) Islands as of last night. Irene will continue to move West across the Lesser Antilles, bringing showers and windy conditions to the local area at least through Monday. Some of these showers will be heavy and will cause street-flooding. Residents (and visitors) are urged to use extreme caution when traveling through low-lying and flood-prone areas. Seas will continue to deteriorate and a Small Craft Advisory is in effect until further notice. Therefore, mariners (boaters & beach-goers) are urged to exercise extreme caution in the regional waters. Winds: are generally from the East to Northeast at 25 to 45 miles per hour, with higher gusts near showers upto 60 miles per hour. Seas: are fairly choppy with wave heights between 4 to 8 feet, becoming rough with wave heights up to 10 feet. A Small Craft Advisory is in effect and mariners are advised not to venture out of port during the next 24 hours. Tropical Weather Active Storms: Tropical Depression Harvey, Tropical Storm Irene. * Tropical Storm Harvey was downgraded to a Tropical Depression during the overnight hours after making landfall as a tropical storm along the coast of Belize. Harvy is expected to dissipate by tomorrow and does NOT pose any threat to the SSS Islands nor any other Caribbean islands. * Tropical Storm Irene formed Saturday evening just East of the Lesser Antilles. As of 8am this morning, the center of Irene was locaed at 16.5N 62.0W or about 130miles SSE of St. Maarten/35miles WNW of Guadeloupe/45miles SSW of Antigua with maximum sustained winds of 50mph, and is moving West at 21mph. Although the center will pass South of the local region, heavy showers and strong gusty winds will still be experienced over the SSS (and surrounding) Islands today and possibly into tomorrow. Irene is expected to strengthen to hurricane strength within the next 24 or so hours; here are the watches & warnings: Hurricane Warning: Southern Coast of the Dominican Republic (from Cabo Engano - the Haiti border). Hurricane Watch: Puerto Rico, Vieques, Culebra. Tropical Storm Warning: St. Maarten/St. Martin, St. Eustatius, Saba, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Vieques, Culebra, St. Barths, Antigua, Barbuda, St. Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla, Montserrat, British Virgin Islands, Northern Coast of the Dominican Republic (from the Haiti border - Cabo Engano). Tropical Storm Watch: Haiti.   Special Weather None. Outlook for tomorrow  Partly to Mostly Cloudy with decreasing showers & winds.               Today's Sunset: 6:35pm Tomorrow's Sunrise: 5:56am Do you have any Weather Photos? If you have any footage of heavy showers, flooding, clouds, sea conditions, or anything that you would like to share that is weather-related, please send them to EyeReporters@Eye4Weather.com with the location of each photo. We will post them on our FaceBook Fan Page and our (future) website. Thank you for sharing and be safe! CONTACT US Desiree_Connor@Eye4Weather.com http://eye4weather.blogspot.com Up-to-date Info: www.Facebook.com/Eye4Weather View Video Forecasts at www.FlamboyantBroadcasting.com/Eye4Weather www.FaceBook.com/Eye4Weather www.YouTube.com/Eye4Weather Note: Videos will be updated by 1:00pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays.