Tropical Storm Beryl is no more, but forecasters say there is the possibility for it to become a tropical cyclone again later this week when it moves across the Bahamas and the western Atlantic.
And Tropical Storm Chris is still churning off the Carolinas and expected to strengthen.
In its 11 p.m. and final advisory on Beryl on Sunday, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said what was left of the tropical storm was located about 305 miles southeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Beryl’s remnants were moving toward the west-northwest near 26 mph.
Maximum sustained winds are near 40 mph with higher gusts, but weakening is expected within the next 12 to 24 hours.
There are no tropical storm watches or warning in effect. However, the hurricane center said, “Interests in the Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti should monitor the progress of the remnants of Beryl.”
Forecasters said the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico could expect strong, gusty winds from what’s left of Beryl on Monday and Monday night. The tropical wave is also is expected to produce 2 to 3 inches of rain through Tuesday with possible isolated amounts up to 5 inches .
According to the Associated Press on Sunday, the government of Dominica said it would shut down its water system and Puerto Rico’s governor warned of likely new power outages. People on islands across the region stocked up on food and water and prepared for possible damaging winds, rains and waves.
The AP said Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit told people to store water because the government would shut down the water system as a precaution, and he warned them to stay alert and respect an island-wide curfew to remain indoors.
“We have to continue to take the situation very seriously,” he said in a public address. “Move now. Go to your relatives. … Go to the shelters.”
Meteorologist Marshall Alexander told the AP that officials were worried about people still living with tarps on their roofs after Hurricane Maria slammed into Dominica as a Category 5 storm last year, killing dozens of people.
“We are in a vulnerable state,” he said.
Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello said at a news conference Sunday afternoon that the island could experience power outages when the storm’s remnants passed over on Monday, according to the AP. He also urged people without sturdy roofs to move in with relatives or one of 24 government shelters that have opened. More than 1,500 power customers remain in the dark more than nine months after Maria, and some 60,000 people still have only tarps for roofs.
“I’m praying for all the brothers who are still living under a plastic roof,” said Alfonso Lugo in the southeastern Puerto Rico town of Humacao. “They’re the ones who are suffering the most now. They’re the ones who have been forgotten.”
Forecasters said Beryl could make a comeback closer to Florida later in the week.
“There appears to be an opportunity for the remnants of Beryl to regenerate into a tropical cyclone when the system moves through the Bahamas and into the southwestern Atlantic,” forecasters said. “The combination of the favorable upper-level wind flow pattern in conjunction with sea-surface temperatures of [82-84 degrees Fahrenheit] should yield conditions conducive for the reformation of a tropical cyclone.”
How strong or reorganized Beryl 2.0 becomes would depend on how fares after interacting with the island of Hispaniola, the hurricane center said. Forecasters gave it a 30 percent chance of becoming a tropical storm again within the next 5 days.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Chris was located about 215 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph in its 11 a.m update Monday.
The hurricane center said Chris is expected to become a hurricane on Tuesday. For now, its tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 70 miles from the center.
Chris is stationary, but a northeasterly movement is forecast to begin late Tuesday, according to the hurricane center.
Chris — as a tropical storm or hurricane — is not expected to make landfall anywhere along the U.S. East Coast, the hurricane center said, but it could have an impact.
“Swells generated by Chris are expected to increase and affect portions of the coasts of North Carolina and the mid-Atlantic states during the next few days,” forecasters said. “These swells could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.”
Associated Press wires and Orlando Sentinel Staff Writer Abigail Brashear contributed to this article.