Tropical Storm Dorian is churning just east of the Lesser Antilles today and could turn into a hurricane by Tuesday.

It’s expected to bring tropical storm conditions to the Windward Islands later Monday and pour up to 4 inches of rain over the islands as well as Barbados and Dominica through Tuesday, according to the National Hurricane Center. Some areas in Barbados and the Windward Islands may see up to 6 inches of rain, the center said.

There were tropical storm warnings for Barbados, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Monday and tropical storm watches for Dominica, Martinique and Grenada and its dependencies, the center said..

Swells generated by the storm around the Lesser Antilles on Monday could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions, the center said.

Dorian is a “small tropical cyclone,” the center said, with tropical-storm-force winds that extend outward for up to 45 miles from its center. Later Monday, that center will be near the Windward Islands.

The storm will intensify by the time it pushes west past the Lesser Antilles and into the Caribbean Sea on Tuesday, CNN Meteorologist Karen Maginnis said.

Dorian’s maximum sustained winds have bumped up to 60 mph, the center said, and are expected to slowly strengthen.

“Dorian could be near hurricane strength on Tuesday and Wednesday while it is over the eastern Caribbean Sea,” the center said.

Dorian is a compact storm, which makes for a more difficult forecast, especially when it comes to intensity, CNN meteorologist Ivan Cabrera said.

As it moves west, it will be battling wind shear and dry air, two hurricane killers, Cabrera said. Reliable models show the storm weakening and dissipating before arriving in Puerto Rico and Hispaniola. If the storm manages to overcome the hostile conditions and intensifies, both Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic will face a hurricane threat by midweek.

“Regardless of wind intensity, heavy flooding rain will be possible, with mudslide threat in higher terrain,” Cabrera said.

Dorian, the fourth named storm of the hurricane season, will be approaching Puerto Rico by Wednesday evening. Puerto Ricans, with fresh memories of the 2017 disaster, have been bracing for what Dorian may look like.

Nearly two years ago, the island was slammed by Hurricane Maria, which unfurled death and devastation and left nearly the entire island without power.

This week’s tropical storm is expected to turn into a Category 1 hurricane while it’s in the vicinity of Puerto Rico, Maginnis said.

Wilfredo Díaz Rosado posted video and images of long lines and empty shelves at Costco and Sam’s Club stores in Puerto Rico.

Krystle Rivera tweeted images showing people with full carts of water at Sam’s Club on Sunday morning.

“Thankfully I’ve been preparing since May,” she said, noting that her family has been stocking up water, canned food and gas.

The line for water stretched from the entrance to the back storage area, she said.

The National Hurricane Center says while it’s too soon to determine the magnitude or possible impacts of Dorian on Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands or Hispaniola, those areas should continue to monitor the storm’s progress.

Generally, hurricane season reaches a peak in the eight weeks around September 10. Two-thirds of all the storms produced in a typical season occur during this period. </s> Tropical storm Dorian is wreaking havoc in the Atlantic Ocean, tracking heavy rainfall, severe winds and dangerous surf over Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and US and British Virgin Islands. Hurricane watches and tropical storm warnings are in force, as the weather system continues towards Florida. The National Hurricane Centre has issued advisories for wind, rain and surf as the weather system intensifies.

Currently, the storm is packing wind speeds of 60mph and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles from the centre. At first, Dorian was forecast to reach just Category One hurricane status before weakening, however now forecasters are predicting the weather system will strengthen to Category Two status before hitting Florida. A Category Two hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson wind scale is classified as having wind speeds for between 96 and 109mph. The NHC describe Category Two hurricanes as having: “Extremely dangerous winds will cause extensive damage: Well-constructed frame homes could sustain major roof and siding damage.

“Many shallowly rooted trees will be snapped or uprooted and block numerous roads. Near-total power loss is expected with outages that could last from several days to weeks.” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said on Tuesday he had received a briefing from the Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Moskowitz and it is time to start preparing for Dorian. Mr DeSantis said: “Based on the current track of Tropical Storm Dorian, all residents on the East Coast should prepare for impacts, including strong winds, heavy rain and flooding. “Make sure to have your supplies ready and follow @FLSERT [Florida Division of Emergency Management] and local media for the latest updates on the forecast.” Read More: Hurricane Dorian spaghetti models: Dorian to become a hurricane

Currently, the weather system is approaching several Caribbean islands and is expected to be close to a Category One hurricane as it approaches Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic on Wednesday and Thursday according to CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen. For Puerto Rico, CNN meteorologist Chad Myers warned the storm could easily damage already fragile infrastructure on the island where 2,975 people died from Hurricane Maria two years ago. Mr Myers said: “There’s already so much damage on the ground from (Maria) that this isn’t going to take a lot to make a significant amount of damage, especially flooding.” A state of emergency has been declared on the island, and Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced urged people to prepare for the storm. Ms Vázquez said on Twitter: “For citizens who do not yet have safe roofs, we will have shelters ready.” </s> Tropical Storm Dorian was dumping rain Tuesday on the Windward Islands of the eastern Caribbean, gathering strength on a path to hit Puerto Rico and the eastern Dominican Republic as a hurricane on Wednesday.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center issued tropical storm warnings for Martinique, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The center said the storm has maximum sustained winds near 50 miles per hour (85 kph) and is forecast to strengthen during the next 48 hours before hitting the U.S. territory.

"Dorian is forecast to be a hurricane when it moves near Puerto Rico and eastern Hispaniola," the center said.

The storm was expected to dump between 3 to 8 inches (8 to 20 centimeters) of rain in the Windward islands, with isolated amounts of 10 inches (25 centimeters).

Much of Barbados shut down as Dorian approached and authorities urged residents to remain indoors amid reports of electrical outages and other minor incidents. Minister of Home Affairs Edmund Hinkson said Tuesday that Dorian "is said to be weakening and that is great news, but we are not out of danger yet."

Tropical storm watches were in force for Dominica, Grenada, Saba and St. Eustatius

In St. Lucia, Prime Minister Allen Chastanet said "we are expecting the worst" and announced that everything on the island of nearly 179,000 people would shut down Monday evening ahead of the storm, but it remained below hurricane strength early Tuesday.

Some were still boarding up windows and buying food and water on Monday, but not Joannes Lamontagne, who lives in the island's southwest region. He said by phone that everything at his hotel, Serenity Escape, was already protected.

"I don't wait until it's announced," he said of the storm. "We're always prepared no matter what."

In Puerto Rico, hundreds of people have been crowding into grocery stores and gas stations to prepare for Dorian, buying food, water and generators, among other things. Many are worried about power outages and heavy rains on an island still struggling to recover from Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 storm that hit in September 2017. Some 30,000 homes still have blue tarps as roofs and the electrical grid remains fragile and prone to outages even during brief rain showers.

Forecasters said the storm could pass near or south of Puerto Rico on Wednesday and approach the Dominican Republic on Wednesday night.

On Monday, Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency and provided a list of all the new equipment that public agencies have bought since Hurricane Maria.

"I want everyone to feel calm," she said. "Agency directors have prepared for the last two years. The experience of Maria has been a great lesson for everyone."

She said public schools will close Tuesday afternoon and that at least one cruise ship canceled its trip to Puerto Rico. She said those without a proper roof can stay in one of the 360 shelters around the island.

Also on Monday, a new tropical depression formed between the U.S. eastern coast and Bermuda. It was located about 365 miles (590 kilometers) southeast of Cape Hatteras in North Carolina and was moving east at 2 mph (4 kph) with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 kph). It was expected to become a tropical storm by Tuesday night and continue blowing off the U.S. East Coast this week on a path to Canada’s North Atlantic provinces. </s> MIAMI (AP) — Forecasters say the fourth tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season is maintaining its strength as it moves toward the Windward Islands.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Sunday that Tropical Storm Dorian could intensify to near hurricane strength over the eastern Caribbean Sea by Tuesday.

As of 8 p.m. EDT Sunday, Dorian’s center was located about 335 miles (540 kilometers) east-southeast of Barbados and was moving west at 14 mph (23 kph). Maximum sustained winds are at 50 mph (85 kph).

A tropical storm warning is in effect for Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. A tropical storm watch was issued for Grenada and Martinique.

Forecasters say Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and the Virgin Islands should monitor Dorian’s progress. </s> SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Tropical Storm Dorian threatened Puerto Rico with a direct hit on Wednesday, as forecasters said it made a last-minute shift in its path and could reach near-hurricane strength in its approach to the U.S. territory.

The storm is expected to pass over or near western and central Puerto Rico, with landslides, widespread flooding and power outages possible. President Donald Trump declared an emergency Tuesday night and ordered federal assistance for local authorities.

"Practically the entire island will be under sustained tropical storm force winds," said Roberto García, director of U.S. National Weather Service San Juan, during a press conference late Tuesday.

However, he said the forecast could change overnight, adding that late shifts occur with storms such as Dorian that do not have a well-defined center.

Dorian was located about 275 miles (440 kilometers) southeast of Ponce, Puerto Rico, on Tuesday night. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said it had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph) and was forecast to strengthen during the next 24 hours as it moves west-northwest at 13 mph (20 kph). The storm is expected to dump 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters) of rain with isolated amounts of 8 inches (20 centimeters).

The change in the storm's course concerned many across the U.S. territory, where some 30,000 homes still have blue tarps as roofs nearly two years after Hurricane Maria. The island's 3.2 million inhabitants still depend on a shaky power grid that has remained prone to outages since it was destroyed by the Category 4 storm.

Jorge Ortiz, a 50-year-old construction worker, was taking no chances. Wiping sweat from his brow, Ortiz climbed up a shaky ladder under a punishing morning sun and tied down pieces of zinc that now serve as his roof because Maria ripped the second floor off his house when it hit on Sept. 20, 2017.

He was forced to rebuild everything himself and finished just three months ago with no assistance from the local or federal government.

"They told me I didn't qualify because it was a total loss," he said, shaking his head as he added that he was wary. "I'm worried that despite all this sacrifice, I'll lose it again."

The U.S. National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane watch for Puerto Rico and a tropical storm warning for Puerto Rico, Vieques, Culebra and the U.S. Virgin Islands. A tropical storm watch was in force for the Dominican Republic from Samaná to Puerto Plata.

Dorian already caused power outages and downed trees in Barbados and St. Lucia, and a still-uncertain long-term track showed the storm near Florida over the weekend.

Although top government officials in Puerto Rico said they were prepared for the storm and had sufficient equipment, a couple of mayors, including those in the western region, said they did not have enough generators or shelters that were properly set up.

Jesús Laracuente, a 52-year-old construction worker who lives in the impoverished neighborhood of Las Monjas in the capital of San Juan, also had doubts about government preparations.

"The people here are prepared. We already learned our lesson," he said, referring to Maria. "What despairs us is knowing that the slightest breeze will leave us without power. It's the government that fails us."

José Ortiz, executive director of Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority, acknowledged that the distribution system still has weak areas and could "suffer" under winds of 50 to 60 mph. However, he stressed the agency has the needed inventory, including more than 120,000 lights, 23,000 poles and 7,400 transformers.

But Freddyson Martínez, vice president of a power workers' union, told The Associated Press that while the electric grid has improved in some areas, he worries about a lack of power line workers and post-Maria patches which feature lines affixed to palm trees.

"Those are problems that are still being corrected to this day," he said. "These are the realities we have to face with this storm."

The island's transportation secretary acknowledged that crews are still rebuilding roads damaged or blocked by Maria, more than 1,000 of which remain blocked by that storm's landslides.

Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez urged those living in flood-prone areas or under a blue tarp to move into one of the island's 360 shelters on Tuesday night. Housing Secretary Fernando Gil has said some 9,000 to 13,000 homes with blue tarp roofs are located in the region that Dorian is expected to affect the most.

Officials also said public schools and government offices would remain closed through at least Thursday.

"We learned our lesson quite well after Maria," Vázquez said. "We are going to be much better prepared."

Dorian was expected to move near the Turks and Caicos Islands and southeastern Bahamas on Thursday night or Friday.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Erin formed well off the U.S. East Coast on Tuesday night, and the National Hurricane Service said the storm is forecast to move northward over the open Atlantic with no threat to land.

It was about 690 miles (1,110 kilometers) west of Bermuda and 300 miles (482 kilometers) southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph. </s> Follow the storm with the FOX8 Hurricane Tracker.

Tropical Storm Dorian is expected to strengthen into a Category 2 hurricane before making landfall in Florida on Labor Day.

The storm is forecast to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane by Friday morning as it tracks to the east of Turks and Caicos and approaches Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic on Wednesday and Thursday. It may continue to strengthen to a Category 2 storm by Sunday morning before it makes landfall along the east coast of Florida or Georgia Monday morning, the National Hurricane Center said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that he received a briefing from the Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Moskowitz and that it is time to start preparing for Dorian.

"Based on the current track of Tropical Storm Dorian, all residents on the East Coast should prepare for impacts, including strong winds, heavy rain and flooding," DeSantis said. "Make sure to have your supplies ready and follow @FLSERT [Florida Division of Emergency Management] and local media for the latest updates on the forecast."

A well-known forecast model is predicting Tropical Storm Dorian will pack hurricane-force winds when it reaches the Florida Peninsula.

Recent runs of the European model, operated by the European Center for Medium Range Forecasting, have been trending a stronger storm over the past 48 hours.

The model has constantly brought the center of the storm to the eastern coast of Florida, somewhere between Jacksonville and West Palm Beach.

Right now, Dorian is approaching several Caribbean islands.

But it could impact more than just the Caribbean: By the end of the week, what's left of Dorian is expected to move toward the Bahamas and southeastern parts of the mainland US.

A word of warning, though: "It is still way too early to forecast impacts," Hennen said about Florida. </s> Tropical Storm Dorian is expected to strengthen into a Category 2 hurricane before making landfall in Florida on Labor Day.

The storm is forecast to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane by Friday morning as it tracks to the east of Turks and Caicos and will continue to strengthen to a Category 2 storm by Sunday morning before it makes landfall along the east coast of Florida or Georgia Monday morning, CNN meteorologist Haley Brink said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that he received a briefing from the Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Moskowitz and that it is time to start preparing for Dorian.

“Based on the current track of Tropical Storm Dorian, all residents on the East Coast should prepare for impacts, including strong winds, heavy rain and flooding,” DeSantis said. “Make sure to have your supplies ready and follow @FLSERT [Florida Division of Emergency Management] and local media for the latest updates on the forecast.”

A well-known forecast model is predicting Tropical Storm Dorian will pack hurricane-force winds when it reaches the Florida Peninsula.

Recent runs of the European model, operated by the European Center for Medium Range Forecasting, have been trending a stronger storm over the past 48 hours.

The model has constantly brought the center of the storm to the eastern coast of Florida, somewhere between Jacksonville and West Palm Beach.

Right now, Dorian is approaching several Caribbean islands.

The tropical storm is expected to be near a Category 1 hurricane as it approaches Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic on Wednesday and Thursday, CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen said.

But it could impact more than just the Caribbean: By the end of the week, what’s left of Dorian is expected to move toward the Bahamas and southeastern parts of the mainland US.

A word of warning, though: “It is still way too early to forecast impacts,” Hennen said about Florida. </s> Tropical Storm Dorian is expected to strengthen into a Category 2 hurricane before making landfall in Florida on Labor Day.

The storm is forecast to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane by Friday morning as it tracks to the east of Turks and Caicos and will continue to strengthen to a Category 2 storm by Sunday morning before it makes landfall along the east coast of Florida or Georgia Monday morning, CNN meteorologist Haley Brink said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that he received a briefing from the Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Moskowitz and that it is time to start preparing for Dorian.

“Based on the current track of Tropical Storm Dorian, all residents on the East Coast should prepare for impacts, including strong winds, heavy rain and flooding,” DeSantis said. “Make sure to have your supplies ready and follow @FLSERT [Florida Division of Emergency Management] and local media for the latest updates on the forecast.”

A well-known forecast model is predicting Tropical Storm Dorian will pack hurricane-force winds when it reaches the Florida Peninsula.

Recent runs of the European model, operated by the European Center for Medium Range Forecasting, have been trending a stronger storm over the past 48 hours.

The model has constantly brought the center of the storm to the eastern coast of Florida, somewhere between Jacksonville and West Palm Beach.

Right now, Dorian is approaching several Caribbean islands.

The tropical storm is expected to be near a Category 1 hurricane as it approaches Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic on Wednesday and Thursday, CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen said.

But it could impact more than just the Caribbean: By the end of the week, what’s left of Dorian is expected to move toward the Bahamas and southeastern parts of the mainland US.

A word of warning, though: “It is still way too early to forecast impacts,” Hennen said about Florida.

“There’s already so much damage on the ground from (Maria) that this isn’t going to take a lot to make a significant amount of damage, especially flooding,” Myers said.

Early Wednesday, the storm was about 240 miles east southeast of Ponce, Puerto Rico, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Ponce Mayor Maria “Mayita” Melendez told CNN there are still people with tarps over their homes in the city, which she estimates was hit with $1 billion in damages from Maria.

One resident, Lucy Beascochea, said the tin roof over her home still has holes in it, meaning every time it rains, water leaks in. She told CNN she is nervous about the approaching storm.

Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced on Monday declared a state of emergency for the island and urged people to prepare for the storm.

“For citizens who do not yet have safe roofs, we will have shelters ready,” Vázquez said on Twitter.

About 360 shelters are available across the island for a capacity of 48,500 people, the government’s official Twitter account said Monday. And about 70 hospitals were prepared to handle emergencies, officials said.

“Thankfully, I’ve been preparing since May,” said Krystle Rivera, whose family has been stocking up on water, canned food and gas in anticipation of the hurricane season.

Though not yet a hurricane, Tropical Storm Dorian is expected to bring severe conditions to the Caribbean.

Two-thirds of Puerto Rico is likely to receive tropical storm force winds, CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller said. As of the early hours of Wednesday, Dorian had sustained winds of 60 mph.

From Wednesday to Thursday, Puerto Rico could get 4 to 8 inches of rain, and the US Virgin Islands, Haiti and Dominican Republic could receive up to 4 inches, according to the hurricane center.

Puerto Rico and eastern parts of the Dominican Republic are under a tropical storm warning, and Puerto Rico is under a hurricane watch, the hurricane center said Tuesday evening.

A tropical storm warning means tropical storm conditions are expected within 36 hours, and a hurricane watch means that hurricane conditions are possible within 48 hours.

After passing Puerto Rico, Dorian is forecast to move near or over eastern Hispaniola on Thursday and move north, the hurricane center said.

By the end of the week, what’s left of Dorian is expected to move toward the Bahamas and possibly into the southeastern parts of the United States.

By Friday evening, the storm is forecast to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane as it tracks east of Turks and Caicos. It will then strengthen to a Category 2 by Sunday morning before making landfall on the east coast of Florida or Georgia.

That means Florida may see a hurricane over Labor Day weekend.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis urged residents to start preparing for Dorian to come their way.

“Based on the current track of Tropical Storm Dorian, all residents on the East Coast should prepare for impacts, including strong winds, heavy rain and flooding. Make sure to have your supplies ready and follow @FLSERT [Florida Division of Emergency Management] and local media for the latest updates on the forecast,” DeSantis said.

But that may not mean it’s time to cancel travel plans: “It is still way too early to forecast impacts,” CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen said. </s> Storm clouds gather as Tropical Storm Dorian moves toward St. Michael Parish, Barbados, Monday, Aug. 26, 2019. Much of the eastern Caribbean island of Barbados shut down on Monday as Dorian approached the region and gathered strength, threatening to turn into a small hurricane that forecasters said could affect the northern Windward islands and Puerto Rico in upcoming days. (AP Photo/Chris Brandis)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Jorge Ortiz, a 50-year-old construction worker, was taking no chances as Tropical Storm Dorian approached Puerto Rico on Tuesday and threatened to brush past the island’s southwest coast at near-hurricane strength.

Wiping sweat from his brow, Ortiz climbed up a shaky ladder under the punishing morning sun and tied down pieces of zinc that now serve as his roof because Hurricane Maria ripped the second floor off his house when the Category 4 storm hit in September 2017.

He was forced to rebuild everything himself and finished just three months ago, and said he received no assistance from the local or federal government.

“They told me I didn’t qualify because it was a total loss,” he said, shaking his head as he added that he was wary about Dorian. “I’m worried that despite all this sacrifice, I’ll lose it again.”

It’s a concern shared by many across the U.S. territory, where some 30,000 homes still have blue tarps as roofs and where the 3.2 million inhabitants depend on a shaky power grid that Maria destroyed and remains prone to outages even in the slightest of rainstorms.

Dorian was located about 415 miles (665 kilometers) southeast of Ponce, Puerto Rico, late Tuesday morning. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said it had maximum sustained winds near 50 mph (85 kph) and was forecast to strengthen during the next 48 hours before passing near or south of the U.S. territory on Wednesday as it moves west-northwest at 13 mph (20 kph).

“The biggest problem will be the rain,” said Roberto García, a forecaster with the National Meteorological Service in Puerto Rico.

The storm was expected to dump between 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 centimeters) of rain in the Windward islands, with isolated amounts of 10 inches (25 centimeters).

Dorian already caused power outages and downed trees in Barbados and St. Lucia, and a still-uncertain long-term track showed the storm near Florida over the weekend.

The Hurricane Center issued a hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning for Puerto Rico and for the Dominican Republic from Isla Saona to Samaná and a tropical storm warning for Martinique. Tropical storm watches were in force for Dominica, Saba, St. Eustatius and parts of the Dominican Republic from Isla Saona to Punta Palenque and from Samaná to Puerto Plata.

In Puerto Rico, some grocery stores ran out of bottled water as people rushed to buy supplies including generators and filled their cars with gasoline.

Government officials on the island warned of possible landslides, flash flooding and power outages, with Puerto Rico’s health secretary urging those with certain health conditions such as diabetes to be prepared.

The island’s transportation secretary acknowledged that crews are still rebuilding roads damaged or blocked by Maria. He said more than 1,000 remain blocked by that storm’s landslides.

Gov. Wanda Vázquez signed an executive order on Monday declaring a state of emergency and urged those living under a tarp to stay in one of the island’s 360 shelters if needed. Housing Secretary Fernando Gil said some 9,000 to 13,000 homes with blue-tarp roofs are located in the region that Dorian is expected to affect the most.

Officials also said they would close all public schools by Tuesday afternoon.

Jesús Laracuente, a 52-year-old construction worker who lives in the impoverished neighborhood of Las Monjas in the capital of San Juan, had his doubts about the government preparations. Blue tarps are still visible in his community, which can flood even in light rainstorms.

“The people here are prepared. We already learned our lesson,” he said, referring to Maria. “What despairs us is knowing that the slightest breeze will leave us without power. It’s the government that fails us.”

Vázquez said this time, the island’s Electric Power Authority has a vast inventory of equipment to cope with storm damage — $141 million worth compared with $22 million during Maria. That includes more than 23,000 poles, 120,000 lights and 7,400 transformers.

She said the power company also has signed 33 deals with power companies on the U.S. mainland if more help is needed after Dorian passes.

In addition, fire departments in Florida were flying teams to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands ahead of Dorian to bring medical supplies and equipment to assist local authorities with rescue efforts if needed.

But Freddyson Martínez, vice president of a power workers’ union, told The Associated Press that while the electric grid has improved in some areas, he worries about a lack of power line workers and post-Maria patches including lines fixed to palm trees.

“Those are problems that are still being corrected to this day,” he said. “These are the realities we have to face with this storm.”

Dorian was expected to move near the Turks and Caicos Islands and southeastern Bahamas on Thursday night or Friday.

Meanwhile, a new tropical depression formed Monday between the U.S. eastern coast and Bermuda. It was located about 370 miles (600 kilometers) southeast of Cape Hatteras in North Carolina and was moving north at 2 mph (4 kph) Tuesday with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 kph). It was expected to become a tropical storm by Tuesday night or Wednesday and continue blowing off the U.S. East Coast this week on a path to Canada’s North Atlantic provinces.
Tropical Storm Dorian is expected to grow stronger as it reaches Puerto Rico, the National Hurricane Center says.