SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Elsa has strengthened into the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, and it's battering the eastern Carribbean, where officials closed schools, businesses and airports under the threat of flash flooding and landslides.
The Category 1 storm unleashed heavy rains and winds on Barbados and on St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which are struggling to recover from recent massive volcanic eruptions. Elsa was located about 5 miles north of St. Vincent, moving west-northwest at 29 miles per hour.
A Georgia Public Broadcasting journalist shared videos of the damage and cleanup beginning in Barbados.
"#HurricaneElsa crossing #Barbados as a Category 1 Storm," she tweeted. "Fortunately, only trees down in my parents’ neighborhood, but some areas saw much worse."
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A YouTube user shared video taken early Friday morning of the heavy downpours of rain and gusty wind blowing palm trees in Barbados, calling the storm "very strong."
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Elsa is expected to pass near the southern coast of Hispaniola on Saturday and to move near Jamaica and portions of eastern Cuba on Sunday.
The First Coast News weather team says impacts to Northeast Florida are likely to be Tuesday or Wednesday as a tropical storm, but it is too early to determine the extent of the impacts.
A wet June leading to elevated river levels, combined with weekend rain could mean a threat of flooding when Elsa arrives. Strong gusts from the storm could also lead to tree damage because of the saturated grounds.