As the island of Hispaniola, which is shared by the Caribbean nations of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, takes preventative measures in the face of Tropical Storm Emily, at 5:00 pm on Wednesday the National Hurricane Center in Miami said the centre of Emily was 60 miles southeast of Isla Beata in the Dominican Republic moving west at 14 mph with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph.
A gradual turn to the west-northwest and northwest is expected during the next day or so. On this track, the centre of Emily will cross the southwestern peninsula of Haiti early Thursday and then over extreme eastern Cuba on Thursday night.
Some weakening is possible as Emily interacts with the high terrain of Haiti and eastern Cuba. Some re-strengthening is possible when the cyclone moves over The Bahamas. Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 115 miles, mainly to the north and east of the centre. Minimum central pressure reported by an Air Force reconnaissance plane was 1003 mb (29.62 inches).
On Wednesday evening, tropical storm conditions were spreading over portions of the Dominican Republic, primarily on the southern coast, and are expected to spread over Haiti on Wednesday night. Tropical storm conditions are expected to reach extreme eastern Cuba, the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands on Thursday and in the central Bahamas on Thursday night. Tropical storm conditions are possible in the northwestern Bahamas on Friday.
