Tropical Storm Dorian gathering strength over the Atlantic

Forecasters say the fourth tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season has strengthened as it moves toward the Lesser Antilles. The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Sunday that Tropical Storm Dorian could intensify to near hurricane strength over the eastern Caribbean Sea by Tuesday.

As of 5 p.m. EDT Sunday, Dorian’s center was located about 375 miles east-southeast of Barbados and was moving westward at 14 mph. Maximum sustained winds had increased to 50 mph.

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 its dependencies, as well as for Martinique.

NHC said Dorian is expected to produce two to four inches of rainfall across the Lesser Antilles — with isolated amounts as much as six inches.

Forecasters say Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and the Virgin Islands should monitor Dorian’s progress. The National Weather Service Tampa Bay tweeted it’s “too early to speculate” if Dorian will impact Florida.