July 12, 2005 –– Tropical Storm Emily could come too close for comfort late Thursday into early Friday as a Category 1 hurricane. If Emily becomes a Category 1, winds will range between 74 and 95 mph.
"The current track is taking it approximately 90 miles south of St. Croix," Andrew Levine, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in San Juan, said at 6:15 a.m. Tuesday.
He said it's still too far away to predict what the weather will be in the Virgin Islands when the storm reaches the area.
Levine said this many days out, the average tracking margin for error is 287 miles. And, he said intensity is the most difficult aspect of a storm to predict. This means the storm could unexpectedly intensify or come closer to the Virgin Islands than anticipated.
As of the 5 a.m. update, Tropical Storm Emily was centered at 11.4 degrees north latitude and 48.6 degrees west longitude.
The storm has winds of 45 mph with gusts to 60 mph. Tropical storm force winds extend outward 35 miles.
It is moving to the west at 14 mph. It is located about 845 miles east of the Windward Islands.
The storm is expected to turn to the west-northwest over the next day and increase in strength.
The barometric pressure stands at 1003 millibars or 29.61 inches.
Tropical Depression 5 became Tropical Storm Emily late Monday.
