John McCarthy
SAN JUAN — Tropical Storm Bret is projected to be a hurricane when it approaches the U.S. Virgin Islands in the next few days, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
NHC forecasters say Bret will make its closest approach to the USVI south of St. Croix sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning.
“Bret is forecast to initially strengthen and then move across the Lesser Antilles near hurricane intensity on Thursday and Friday, bringing a risk of flooding from heavy rainfall, strong winds, and dangerous storm surge and waves,” the hurricane center warned.
The storm, more than 900 miles east of the southern Windward Islands, is packing maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour (65 km per hour), the Miami-based forecaster said.
In an average year, the first hurricane typically doesn’t form until early to mid-August, according to the NHC.
