© NOAA
A map from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows the probable course of tropical storm Irene.
A map from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows the probable course of tropical storm Irene.
Irene, the ninth named storm of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, was expected to pass Puerto Rico's southern coast early on Monday and then strengthen into a hurricane as it approached the Dominican Republic.
It would be the first hurricane of the so far busy, but to date not destructive, 2011 Atlantic hurricane season.
At 8 a.m. EDT, Irene was packing winds of 50 miles per hour and was located about 35 miles west northwest of the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, moving into the northeastern Caribbean sea, the U.S.-based National Hurricane Center said.
Residents of Antigua reported rains, strong squalls and surf as the storm passed.
