The storm was about 390 kilometers (240 miles) south of Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, and had maximum sustained winds of 85 kilometers per hour (50 mph). It was moving west at 6 mph (9 km/h) and is expected to turn sharply to the north Monday night or early Tuesday.
Franklin is expected to strengthen before making landfall Tuesday on Hispaniola, the island shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Cumulative rainfall of 25 centimeters (10 inches) is expected in both countries, with up to 38 centimeters (15 inches) in isolated areas. The possibility of torrential rains is a concern in Haiti, as the country easily floods due to severe land erosion. More than 40 people died in June after a day of torrential downpours from a storm.
Authorities issued a tropical storm watch for the entire southern coast of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and a similar warning was in effect for the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Earlier on Monday, three tropical storms were circling the Caribbean and Atlantic, unusual in a region where a heavier-than-normal hurricane season is expected. One of those storms, Emily, dissipated Monday morning while another, Gert, will likely do the same shortly.
Franklin formed on Sunday and was bringing heavy rain over parts of Puerto Rico by Monday. Meanwhile, Gert formed to become the eighth named storm this season. It emerges about three weeks early compared to the dates of the eighth named storms on record from 1991 to 2020, said Brian McNoldy, a researcher at the University of Miami.
Last year, there were no named storms in August, although two years ago, there were a total of six in that month, McNoldy said. Before August 2021, the last time such a phenomenon occurred was in 2010, he explained.
Meanwhile, a fourth system in the Gulf of Mexico appeared to be on the verge of becoming a tropical storm, as did another off the west coast of Africa.
FOUNTAIN: Associated Press
