Alert #24 on Tropical Storm Franklin was issued by The Bahamas Department of Meteorology, on Thursday 24th August, 2023, at 6 am EDT.
…Franklin is pulling away from the Turks and Caicos Islands…
…Strengthening is forecast…
The all-clear is now given for the Turks and Caicos Islands; therefore Tropical Storm Warning for the Turks and Caicos Islands is discontinued.
At 5 am EDT, the center of Tropical Storm Franklin was located near latitude 21.9 degrees north and longitude 70.4 degrees west, or about 55 miles east-northeast of Cockburn Town, Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands, 220 miles east-northeast of Matthew Town, Inagua and 485 miles southeast of New Providence.
Tropical Storm Franklin is moving toward the north near 13 miles per hour. A turn to the northeast and then east-northeast with a decrease in forward speed is forecast during the next couple of days. On the forecast track, the center of Franklin will continue to move farther away from the Turks and Caicos Islands and over the Southwestern Atlantic into the weekend.
Maximum sustained winds are near 50 miles per hour with higher gusts. Gradual strengthening is forecast, and Franklin is expected to become a hurricane in a couple of days.
Tropical Storm force winds extend outward up to 105 miles, mainly to the north and east from the center.
This will be the final Alert issued on Tropical Storm Franklin by The Bahamas Department of Meteorology.
Meanwhile, the Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies (DDME) wishes to advise the general Public that ALL Public Shelters on the islands of Grand Turk, South Caicos and Salt Cay have been closed as of 7:00AM today Thursday 24th August 2023.
