Tropical Storm Gonzalo moved through the eastern Caribbean Monday, as the storm slowly gained strength toward potential hurricane status, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Heavy rain and strong winds hit Antigua, where the effects of Gonzalo were expected to be felt for several hours. The government ordered schools and businesses to close amid an island-wide power outage and opened four emergency shelters.
Gonzalo was centered about 35 kilometers east of Antigua and 75 kilometers north of Guadeloupe. It had maximum sustained winds of 95 kilometers per hour (kph) and was moving toward the west at 17 kph.
The storm is expected to produce up to 20 centimeters of rain across the Leeward Islands, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.