Although the United States may luck out again in not having any major effects from yet another strong storm this hurricane season, other areas in the Caribbean are not so lucky. Hurricane Paula remains a dangerous storm even though it has lost some strength from earlier in the day.

As of the 5PM EST National Hurricane Center advisory, Paula has maximum sustained winds of about 85 miles per hour, and was moving in a NNE direction at 5 miles per hour. The current location is 21.7°N 85.6°W, which puts Paula about 45 miles to the west of the western most tip of Cuba. Over the next 4 days the National Hurricane Center expects a projected path that will take the storm in a northeast direction, and gradually all the way east. Over the next several days Paula should gradually lose strength, likely being downgraded to a tropical storm sometime tomorrow. The center of circulation should pretty much ride the northern coast of Cuba.

There has been a tropical storm watch posted for the Florida Keys, a hurricane warning for the western tip of Cuba, and a hurricane watch for the rest of Western Cuba. All Interests in the Caribbean and Florida should continue to pay attention to this storm.