Tropical Storm Matthew forms over the south-central Caribbean Sea, expected to strengthen

September 24th, 2010 - 4:41 am ICT by BNO News  

MIAMI (BNO NEWS) — Tropical Storm Matthew formed over the south-central Caribbean Sea on late Thursday afternoon and is expected to strengthen further, forecasters said.

As of 5 p.m. EDT, Matthew was located about 700 kilometers (435 miles) east of Puerto Cabezas in Nicaragua. It was moving toward the west near 26 kilometers (16 miles) per hour. “This general motion is expected to continue for the next 48 hours,” said forecaster Stacy Stewart at the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.

Stewart said the center of Matthew is expected to be near the Nicaragua-Honduras border by late Friday or early Saturday morning, and may strengthen into a category one hurricane around that time.

As of Thursday afternoon, Matthew’s maximum sustained winds were near 65 kilometers (40 miles) per hour, with higher gusts.

Meanwhile, forecasters have issued a hurricane watch from Puerto Cabezas in Nicaragua to Limon in Honduras, which includes offshore islands. A tropical storm warning has also been issued for the same region.

“A hurricane watch means that hurricane conditions are possible within the watch area,” Stewart said. “A watch is typically issued 48 hours before the anticipated first occurrence of tropical-storm-force winds, conditions that make outside preparations difficult or dangerous.”

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