Tropical Storm warning discontinued for Saint Lucia

AT 8:00 AM TODAY, THE CENTRE OF HURRICANE MARIA WAS NEAR LATITUDE 16.2 NORTH, LONGITUDE 62.8 WEST, OR 194 MILES OR 312 KM NORTHWEST OF SAINT LUCIA. MARIA IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST NORTHWEST NEAR 9 MPH OR 15 KM/H. ON THE FORECAST TRACK, THE CENTRE OF MARIA IS EXPECTED TO SLOWLY MOVE AWAY FROM THE LESSER ANTILLES.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 160 MPH OR 260 KM/H WITH HIGHER GUSTS. SOME FLUCTUATIONS IN INTENSITY ARE LIKELY DURING THE NEXT DAY OR TWO BUT MARIA IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS HURRICANE DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS.
THE SAINT LUCIA METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES NO LONGER EXPECT SUSTAINED TROPICAL STORM FORCED OVER SAINT LUCIA. HOWEVER, SCATTERED MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL AND GUSTY WINDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE OUTER BANDS OF MARIA ARE EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 12 TO 24 HOURS.
THUS FAR 110 MM AND 88 MM OF RAINFALL HAS BEEN RECORDED AT HEWANORRA AND GFL CHARLES RESPECTIVELY, WITH HIGHER AMOUNTS RECORDED IN OTHER AREAS. IN LIGHT OF THIS, SOILS ACROSS THE ISLAND ARE SATURATED AND THERE IS A STRONG POSSIBILITY OF FLOODING AND LANDSLIDES WITH ANY FURTHER HEAVY RAINFALL. PERSONS LIVING IN AREAS PRONE TO THESE HAZARDS ARE ADVISED TO REMAIN VIGILANT.
ROUGH SEAS GENERATED BY HURRICANE MARIA WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT SAINT LUCIA WITH WAVES AND SWELLS 13 TO 15 FEET OR 4.0 TO 4.6 METRES FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS.
SMALL CRAFT OPERATORS AND LOCAL FISHERMEN ARE STRONGLY ADVISED TO REMAIN IN PORT AND RESIDENTS ARE ALSO ADVISED TO STAY AWAY FROM THE BEACHES.
REPEATING THE 8:00 AM POSITION OF HURRICANE MARIA, LATITUDE 16.2 NORTH, LONGITUDE 62.8 WEST OR 194 MILES OR 312 KM NORTHWEST OF SAINT LUCIA.
NOTE: THIS IS NOT THE ALL CLEAR FOR SAINT LUCIA.
SHEM WILLIE
METEOROLOGIST