It
looks like the Caribbean and Florida dodged another bullet now that
Tropical Storm Chris weakened and lost steam and skirted several
islands in the eastern Caribbean with winds of barely 40 mph, just
above the minimum to be a named storm. Forecasters said the storm
was unlikely to become a hurricane.
The Bahamian government
discontinued its hurricane watch in the southeastern Bahamas and
the Turks and Caicos islands and posted a tropical storm watch
instead.
Chris was expected to
dump heavy rains over the U.S. and British Virgin Islands as well
as Puerto Rico.
Earlier in the week,
when the storm did pose a hurricane threat, officials evacuated 600
tourists as a precaution from Culebra and Vieques off Puerto Ricos
eastern coast. A vendor in Old San Juan posted his Storm Special
half-price ice cream when the storm appeared to be a real threat to
Puerto Rico.
Precautions on
sea, in the air
Royal Caribbean altered
the itineraries of three of its ships as it continued to monitor
the path of Tropical Storm Chris.
The Navigator of the
Seas skipped a call in St. Maarten and stopped in Nassau a day
ahead of schedule; the Explorer of the Seas eliminated calls in San
Juan and Labadee, Haiti, opting for a day at sea before calling in
Nassau Aug. 3; and the Freedom of the Seas also will skip Haiti on
Aug. 4, opting for a day at sea instead.
Spirit Airlines,
meanwhile, enacted its Hurricane Buster policy, waiving its $50
change-fee for customers traveling to or from San Juan Aug. 2 and
3, providing they rebook by Aug. 29.
To
contact reporter Gay Nagle Myers, send e-mail to [email protected].
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