A national shutdown for the island of Saint Lucia has been confirmed from 4 am until the all-clear is given. Citizens were asked to brace themselves for Tropical Storm Elsa to begin affecting the island from early Friday morning.
Saint Lucia together with neighbouring islands Martinique, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados have been placed on Tropical Storm watches as the impending Tropical Storm continues on a path towards the west near 28 mph or 44 km/h.
An even faster motion to the west-northwest is expected over the next 24 to 36 hours. On the forecast track, the system will pass near Saint Lucia on Friday and move into the eastern Caribbean Sea late Friday.
At 11:00 am today the center of Tropical Storm Elsa was located near latitude 10.1 N degrees north, longitude 51.4 degrees west or about 700 miles or 1130 kilometers east-southeast of Saint Lucia with maximum sustained winds near 45 mph or 75 km/h, with higher gusts. Some strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours.