DISCUSSION AND OUTLOOK
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At 200 PM AST (1800 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Isaias was
located near latitude 18.9 North, longitude 69.8 West. Isaias is
moving toward the northwest near 20 mph (31 km/h), and a west-
northwestward to northwestward motion with some decrease in forward
speed is expected over the next couple of days. On the forecast
track, the center of Isaias will continue to move over Hispaniola
through this evening, and be near the Southeastern Bahamas by late
tonight or early Friday. Isaias is forecast to be near the Central
Bahamas Friday night and move near or over the Northwest Bahamas or
South Florida on Saturday.

Maximum sustained winds are near 60 mph (95 km/h) with higher
gusts. Some slight weakening is possible as Isaias continues
to move over Hispaniola today. Re-strengthening is forecast on
Friday and Friday night.

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 310 miles (500 km)
primarily to the north of the center. A weather station at Punta
Cana near the eastern tip of the Dominican Republic reported
sustained winds of 39 mph (63 km/h) with a gust to 52 mph (83 km/h)
within the past couple of hours.

The estimated minimum central pressure is 1003 mb (29.62 inches).