Tropical Storm Elsa strengthened slightly Thursday night as it moved quickly towards the Caribbean.
Elsa had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph as it moved west-northwest at 26 mph about 260 miles east-southeast of Barbados, according to the 11 p.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
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Tropical storm warnings were in place for Barbados, Martinique, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. A tropical storm watch is in effect for Grenada and the southern and western coasts of Haiti from the southern border of the Dominican Republic to Le Mole le St. Nicholas.
South Florida remained in the cone of concern with Elsa forecast to move across the area as early as Monday evening. No watches or warnings have been issued for South Florida.
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The best-case scenario would be the storm missing South Florida far south or far east. If the storm approaches Key West, that would bring high impact weather to the Keys and disruptive, tropical bands of wind and rain to Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Surfside.
Between three and 10 inches of rain is expected to fall starting Friday for areas included in the Windward Islands and Barbados, which may lead to isolated flooding and mudslides.
Elsa was expected to strengthen over the next 48 hours, according to the NHC.
