Hurricane Debby continues on a course along the Northern Leeward Islands that will bring the storm center near the U.S. Virgin Islands in the early part of the afternoon Tuesday.
At 8 a.m. the hurricane, upgraded from tropical storm status earlier, was located about 65 miles east-southeast of the British Virgin Islands, moving to the west-northwest at 21 miles per hour.
Hurricane Debby is packing sustained winds of 75 miles per hour with higher gusts.
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said Tuesday that additional strengthening is likely over the next 24 hours, but by that time, the storm would have already passed the local area.
The latest "hurricane hunter" aircraft to fly through the storm reported hurricane force winds extending out 25 miles from the center and tropical storm force winds out to 175 miles.
Meteorologist Alan Archer said the latest advisory validates what the computer models have been suggesting all along, that Debby "would impact Antigua, then the BVI and the Virgin Islands. "
Initial reports from islands of the Eastern Caribbean are favorable in the aftermath of Hurricane Debby. Tony Johnson, speaking from Antigua on the Cable News Network, said there was no widespread damage to report. "The major buildings fared well — we came through fine," he said Tuesday morning.
Residents in St. Barthelemy reported heavy surf and occasional wind gusts to 76 miles per hour as Debby passed through. In St. Martin, a 60 mile-per-hour wind gust was reported shortly before 8 a.m.
Forecasters expect the more severe showers, thundershowers and hurricane-force winds after the storm center or hurricane eye passes the area, sometime around mid-afternoon based on the latest estimates from the National Hurricane Center.
