Tropical Storm Sandy, which formed in the western Caribbean Sea late Monday, is expected to become a hurricane on Wednesday as it approaches Jamaica, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
The storm was centered about 260 miles south-southwest of Kingston, Jamaica, and had top sustained winds of 50 miles per hour, the center said in an afternoon advisory.
Hurricane warnings were issued for Jamaica, where strong winds and rain are expected to begin on Tuesday, and for parts of Cuba, which should feel Sandy by Wednesday night.
The storm does not pose a threat to the Gulf of Mexico, where U.S. oil and gas operations are clustered.
Computer models showed Sandy was on a projected path that would carry it over Jamaica on Wednesday and then eastern Cuba and the Bahamas.
"Right now we just have to hope and pray and keep watch," said Antonette Fisher, a resident of New Haven, a community with a history of flooding whenever it rains, to the Jamaica Observer.
"If the rain should come and fall like how it did a few months ago, we fear that we may lose our homes," said resident Winston Higgins told the paper.
Sandy is expected to dump 6 to 12 inches of rain across parts of Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and eastern Cuba, forecasters said. Some areas could even see 20 inches of rain.
Residents were warned that the harsh weather could spark flash floods and mudslides.
