1. Rainfall around the southern periphery of Tropical Storm Peter could lead to areas of urban and small stream flooding through today across northern Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, portions of the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Leeward Islands.

There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect. Interests in the northern Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico should monitor the progress of this system.

RAINFALL: Rainfall around the southern periphery of Tropical Storm Peter could produce additional rainfall totals of 1 to 4 inches, with storm total accumulations up to 6 inches, across portions of the Northern Leeward Islands, including portions of the Virgin Islands, as well as Puerto Rico and the northern portions of Hispaniola through Thursday morning. This rainfall may lead to areas of urban and small stream flooding.

SURF: Swells generated by Peter are affecting the northern Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico, and will continue spreading westward to Hispaniola later today and the Bahamas on Wednesday. These swells could cause life threatening surf and rip current conditions. Please consult products from your local weather office.

At 1100 AM AST (1500 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Peter was located near latitude 19.9 North, longitude 64.7 West. Peter is moving toward the west northwest near 9 mph (15 km/h). A west northwest motion is expected to continue today. A turn to the north with a decrease in forward speed is expected beginning tomorrow. On the forecast track, the center of Peter is currently passing north of the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico today and should move well east of the southeastern Bahamas during the next few days. Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 40 mph (65 km/h) with higher gusts. Additional weakening is forecast over the next several days. Peter is expected to weaken to a tropical depression by tonight and then degenerate to a remnant low by Thursday. Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 150 miles (240 km) from the center. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1008 mb (29.77 inches).

Like the last several days, this morning's visible satellite imagery indicates that Peter has become increasingly detached from the remaining fragmented convection that is firing more than 100 n mi east of the center. An Air Force Reserve Reconnaissance aircraft has been sampling the storm this morning and so far has yet to find any flight level (925 mb) or SFMR winds above tropical storm force, although they weren't able to fly the full pattern in the northeastern quadrant. The initial intensity has been lowered to 35 kt for this advisory, though the data so far suggests this estimate is generous.

After taking a jog to the west overnight, Peter appears to have resumed a slower west-northwest motion at 290/8 kt. Over the next several days, Peter is expected to continue to slow down as it gradually turns to the north and then north-northeast as a deep-layer cyclone to the north is forecast to create a weakness in the current low-level ridging. The track guidance is in general agreement with this scenario, but differences remain in how sharp this rightward turn will be. The latest NHC track forecast has elected to stay close to the track consensus models TVCN and HCCA, and is a bit right of the previous track.

After holding its own against a fairly hostile upper-level wind environment during the last 24-48 hours, Peter appears to finally be succumbing to the combination of 25-30 kt of deep-layer vertical wind shear helping to import sub-50 percent mid-level relative humidity over the center. This shear is not forecast to abate for the next 36-48 hours, and it now appears likely Peter will not be able to survive this unfavorable environment. The latest NHC intensity forecast now weakens Peter to a tropical depression in 12 hours, and degenerates it to a remnant low in 48 hours. However, given the current fragile state of the low-level circulation, it is distinctly possible that Peter may open up into a trough even sooner in the next 24-48 hours.