WHAT'S NEW:

None.

SUMMARY OF ALERTS:

There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

Rainfall: Karen is expected to produce additional rainfall accumulations of 1 to 2 inches across Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, with isolated storm totals of 8 inches.

These rains may cause flash flooding and mudslides, especially in mountainous areas. Some areas in southeastern Puerto Rico have already received up to 5 inches of rainfall, which has caused some flooding.

At 500 PM AST (2100 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Karen was located near latitude 22.9 North, longitude 64.3 West. Karen is moving toward the north-northeast near 14 mph (22 km/h). A north- northeastward to northeastward motion with a decrease in forward speed is expected through early Friday. Karen is then expected to slow down and make a clockwise loop over the southwestern Atlantic into the weekend.

Reports from an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate that maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 40 mph (65 km/h) with higher gusts. Some strengthening is possible during the next few days.

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 45 miles (75 km) from the center.

The estimated minimum central pressure is 1004 mb (29.65 inches).