The 10th named tropical storm of the year formed in the far eastern Tropical Atlantic Monday night and could near the U.S. Virgin Islands next week. Hurricane forecasters are urging all residents in the Eastern Caribbean to monitor the track of Tropical Storm Joyce, located Tuesday morning almost 2,130 miles east-southeast of the Virgin Islands.
"Joyce, a weak tropical storm, is moving to the west at 14 miles per hour and packing winds of 40 miles an hour," according to forecaster James Franklin at the National Hurricane Center.
He put the poorly defined storm center near 11.7 degrees north latitude, 33.8 degrees west longitude as of 5 a.m. Tuesday. Franklin said little change in strength is predicted over the next 24 hours.
"Showers and thundershowers near the poorly defined center are not well-organized, and the system should develop slowly in the short term," he said. Long-range computer forecast models are calling for a southward motion over the next three days as a ridge associated with Hurricane Isaac pulls away. "But that is questionable at the present time," Franklin said, adding that he believes Joyce will maintain a westward track over the next couple of days.
Meteorologist Alan Archer said Tuesday he sees Joyce coming in close proximity to the Virgin Islands and the Northern Leeward Islands in seven days. "This storm appears to be a southern tracker, meaning it's running due west along the southern latitudes and not curving to the northwest as so many systems have done this hurricane season," he said. Archer said Tropical Storm Joyce bears watching closely over the next few days as it could jog north after it crosses the Windward Islands.
Advisories on Tropical Storm Joyce are being issued every six hours with the next forecast expected at 11 a.m.
