A hurricane watch was issued for St. Lucia as Tropical Storm Bret barreled toward the eastern Caribbean on Thursday at near-hurricane strength.
The storm was located about 220 miles (355 kilometers) east of St. Lucia late Thursday morning and was moving west at 14 mph (22 kph). It had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kph), just below the 74 mph (119 kph) winds of a Category 1 hurricane.
Airports, businesses, schools and offices were closing in St. Lucia and Dominica as forecasters warned of torrential downpours, landslides and flooding.
An active weather pattern across the Sunshine State means some residents are seeing flooding.
According to doppler radar estimates, at least 5″ of rain have fallen over North-Central Florida, with more precipitation expected through the week.
