document: Officials warned residents of the U.S. Virgin Islands , Puerto Rico and nearby islands to bolt down everything loose and stock up on food and water Wednesday as Hurricane Dean rumbled through the eastern Caribbean . Dean was upgraded from a tropical storm to the second hurricane of the Atlantic season Wednesday , and by nightfall the National Weather Center in Puerto Rico reported the hurricane 's winds had strengthened to 80 mph . Hurricane warnings were posted for the Leeward Islands from Antigua to the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico , said forecasters at the National Hurricane Center near Miami . At midnight EDT , forecasters reported the center of the hurricane was at latitude 18.5 north and longitude 61.3 west , moving westerly at 15 mph . Its latest position was 310 miles east of Puerto Rico , 65 miles northeast of Barbuda and about 240 miles east of St. Thomas . The storm was moving over warm tropical waters at 15 mph , down slightly from the 20 mph it had sustained much of the day . But forecasters said some strengthening was possible in the next 24 hours . An advisory issued by the National Weather Service in San Juan for the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico advised residents to `` secure loose objects or move them indoors , '' board or tape windows and stock up on emergency supplies such as drinking water , food that needs no refrigeration and batteries . `` This is a dangerous storm and should not be taken lightly , even though it is a minimal hurricane , '' it said . `` Do n't take chances . It could lead to injuries or even death . '' In San Juan , a city of 1.1 million people , shoppers formed long lines in supermarkets , workers boarded up windows of the governor 's mansion and stores in the tourist district of Old San Juan . A hurricane advisory said aircraft reports indicated Dean 's center was moving westward after making a temporary jog northwest . `` This increases the threat to the northern Leeward islands , '' it said . Forecasters said the storm was expected to first hit land in Barbuda , the easternmost Leeward Island and move northwest toward the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico over the next 24 to 36 hours . Government radio in the twin island state of Antigua and Barbuda said Dean was expected to hit Barbuda on Wednesday night , and warned residents to bar windows , latch down loose objects and stock up on water . Barbuda is a flat , 62-square-mile coral island with a population of 1,200 and little industry or tourism . A hurricane warning for Guadeloupe was dropped , as was a hurricane watch for Dominica and Martinique . In Coral Gables , Fla. , hurricane specialist Jim Gross called Dean a small hurricane , with hurricane-force winds confined to within 25 miles of its center . Rainfall of 4 to 8 inches and tides 2 to 4 feet above normal were said to be possible in the storm 's path . Authorities broadcast similar warnings in several nearby islands . Dean grew from the fifth tropical depression of the season Monday morning into a named storm by Monday night . Three other storms have formed since the season began June 1 . Tropical Storm Allison , caused widespread flooding in Texas and Louisiana in June . Barry churned up the open Atlantic last month before dissipating . Chantal became a hurricane Monday and was downgraded to a tropical depression Tuesday night after hitting land in Texas .
extractive_keyphrases: hurricane dean second hurricane atlantic season hurricane warnings forecasters emergency supplies hurricane watch eastern caribbean hurricane advisory puerto rico
abstractive_keyphrases: hurricane-force winds u.s. virgin islands