After several days of development in the southern Caribbean, meteorologists reported today the formation of tropical depression 18. It will continue to strengthen until it becomes a hurricane on Wednesday when it passes through Cuba.

Washington. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that the depression is moving north at a speed close to 15 kilometers per hour (km/h). The movement toward the northwest is expected to begin later today.

According to the forecast, the system will arrive near Jamaica tonight, near or over the Cayman Islands on Tuesday, and will approach Cuba on Wednesday.

The report specifies that the maximum sustained winds are close to 55 km/h with stronger gusts and it will become a tropical storm later today and a hurricane on Wednesday.

In bulletin 4 on this system, the institution specifies that the depression is located near latitude 15.2 North, longitude 76.9 West.

As for winds, hurricane conditions are expected in the Cayman Islands on Tuesday afternoon and also possible in western Cuba and the Isle of Youth on Wednesday.

Heavy rains will affect areas of the western Caribbean and will be more intense in Jamaica and parts of Cuba until midweek. The report warns that flooding could occur in Jamaica and Cuba, with possible landslides. (PL)