At 500 AM AST (0900 UTC), the center of newly formed Tropical Storm Karen was located near latitude 11.9 North, longitude 60.2 West.
Karen is moving toward the west-northwest near 9 mph (15 km/h) and this general motion is expected to continue today.
A turn toward the northwest is forecast to occur on Monday, followed by a turn toward the north on Tuesday. On the forecast track, Karen will move across the Windward Islands this afternoon and tonight, and emerge over the southeastern Caribbean Sea Monday morning.
On Tuesday, Karen is expected to approach Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Maximum sustained winds are near 40 mph (65 km/h) with higher gusts. Little change in strength is forecast during the next 48 hours.
Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 125 miles (205 km) from the center. Barbados recently reported a sustained wind of 37 mph (59 km/h) and a gust to 45 mph (72 km/h). The estimated minimum central pressure is 1005 mb (29.68 inches).