• Submitted by: lena campos
• Intense rains and floods
• 08 / 25 / 2012

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With Isaac already responsible for triggering significant flooding across Puerto Rico, torrential rainfall is now pouring down across Hispaniola and will spread to Cuba, the Bahamas and Jamaica.

The worst of Isaac's flooding rainfall remains on the east side of the tropical storm.

After Isaac crossed the southwestern peninsula of Haiti earlier this morning, it will continue on a northwestward path across the far eastern tip of Cuba today.

As it does so, its torrential rain and isolated tornado danger will shift from Hispaniola to eastern Cuba.


Despite riding along the central Cuba coastline later this afternoon and overnight over open waters, the path will force Isaac to continue to interact with land. AccuWeather.com Meteorologists are expecting the storm to weaken just a bit before it moves into the Florida Straits.

As of Saturday morning, tropical storm wind gusts were already occurring over portions of eastern Cuba and the southeastern Bahamas. Tropical storm winds are expected to spread into central Cuba later today before reaching northwestern Cuba and the northwestern Bahamas late tonight or early Sunday morning.

The biggest impact across Cuba and the Bahamas over the next 36 to 48 hours will be the flooding rainfall. Much of Cuba can expect between 4 to 8 inches of rainfall with some mountainous locations picking up as many as 20 inches of rain.

These rainfall amounts will lead to life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides. Flooding will remain possible throughout Cuba through Sunday.

Winds circling around the center of the storm will cause the ocean water to rise onto the coastlines across eastern Cuba. Peak storm surge will be 1 to 3 feet.

Source: AccuWeather.com