Tropical Storm ISAAC

Tropical Storm Isaac is holding its own as it moves through the northern Lesser Antilles, and is expected to gradually strengthen trend as it moves west through the northeastern Caribbean on Thursday.

The official forecast calls for Isaac to become a hurricane by Friday morning, but perhaps the more ominous threat in the short term is the potential for extremely heavy rainfall over the islands near Isaac’s path.

Over a foot of rainfall, and potentially as much as 20 inches in a few locales, is possible on the island of Hispaniola, home to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Life-threatening flash floods and mudslides would likely result from that amount of rain.

Residents and visitors of the northern Caribbean, Yucatan Peninsula, southeastern United States and the central/eastern Gulf Coast should watch the progress of Isaac closely over the next few days.