13:04 09Jun2005 DJN-DJ Tropical Storm Arlene Forms In Caribbean; Cuba On
Alert

DJ Tropical Storm Arlene Forms In Caribbean; Cuba On Alert

MIAMI (AP)--Tropical Storm Arlene developed Thursday in the
northwest Caribbean Sea, edging closer to western Cuba as the Atlantic
hurricane season's first named storm.
Arlene had maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour after
strengthening from a tropical depression that formed Wednesday. Tropical
storms have top sustained winds of 39 mph to 74 mph.
At 8 a.m. EDT, the storm's center was about 190 miles
south-southeast of the western tip of Cuba. It was moving north at about
8 mph, and this motion could bring the storm's center near western Cuba
as early as Thursday night, forecasters said.
The Cuban government has issued a tropical storm watch for the
western province of Pinar Del Rio to the capital of Havana.
The depression was causing heavy rains and squalls across the
Cayman Islands and western and central Cuba. Forecasters warned that
very heavy rains in Nicaragua and Honduras could cause flash floods and
mudslides.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires