Tropical Depression Grace expected to become a hurricane later this week

Tropical Depression Grace is expected to become a hurricane by Friday as it approaches the Mexican coast, the National Hurricane Center said in its 8 p.m. Monday update.

The storm is forecast to generate winds of 75 mph, just enough to qualify as a category 1 hurricane. It would be the second hurricane of the season, following Hurricane Elsa, which formed in early July. NOAA’s forecast calls for seven to 10 hurricanes this season.

The storm, currently producing top winds of 35 mph, was soaking Haiti with heavy rains Monday night and then expected to brush Jamaica and Cuba.

At 8 p.m. the storm was 60 miles southwest of the Haitian capital of Port-auPrince, and 325 miles east of Montego Bay, Jamaica, moving west-northwest at 13 mph.

Tropical storm watches and warnings have gone up in Jamaica, southern Cuba and the Cayman Islands.

Although a few days ago Grace’s projected path included South Florida, it has veered far south in the Caribbean, taking Florida well out of range.

Hurricane Hunter airplanes from NOAA and the Air Force were flying into the storm Monday to assess its strength, but its top winds are expected to be stuck around 35 mph until it has the chance to strengthen over the warm open water of the northwestern Caribbean.

The most hazardous part of the storm to the islands of the Caribbean is likely to be rain, with its potential to cause flash floods and landslides, said Ken Graham, director of the National Hurricane Center.

“Eight to 10, maybe even 15 inches of rain,” he said. “It’s just a dangerous situation.”

The potential for torrential rain, flooding and landslides would be a particularly hard blow for Haiti. A 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck there on Saturday has left more than 1,400 dead.

The storm is one of three being watched Monday by the National Hurricane Center, as hurricane season enters its peak period.

Grace was expected to move over eastern Cuba today, where it could bring heavy rain to parts of Cuba, as well as Jamaica and the Cayman Islands through Thursday. At least 2 to 4 inches of rain is forecast, with isolated maximum totals of 6 inches, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The center said Grace may become a hurricane by the time it reaches the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, the Florida Panhandle is taking a hit from Tropical Storm Fred, which made landfall Monday shortly after 2 p.m.

And Tropical Storm Henri formed late Monday afternoon near Bermuda but poses no immediate threats to land.