The North-West Bahamas and Florida began bracing on Friday for the approach of Hurricane Jeanne, an already deadly storm moving westward in the Atlantic Ocean with maximum sustained winds near 100 mph.
The Bahamas’ government issued a hurricane warning for the northwestern part of the island chain, including Grand Bahama Island and New Providence, which includes the capital, Nassau, said the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
The warning means hurricane conditions are expected in the next 24 hours. The central Bahamas were under a tropical storm warning.
A hurricane watch took effect along the east coast of Florida from Florida City to St. Augustine, including Lake Okeechobee, alerting residents that hurricane conditions were possible in the next 36 hours, the hurricane center said.
The storm was expected to hit the northern Bahamas on Saturday and the east coast of Florida on Sunday, it said.
