BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) — Caribbean nations are on high alert as Tropical Storm Jerry, currently positioned approximately 835 miles east-southeast of the northern Leeward Islands, is projected to escalate into a hurricane by Thursday. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami has issued a tropical storm watch for multiple islands, including Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, St Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat, St Barthelemy, St Martin, Sint Maarten, Saba, St Eustatius, and Guadeloupe. Residents in the northern Leeward Islands, the British and US Virgin Islands are also advised to closely monitor the storm’s progression. Jerry, the 10th named storm of the 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season, is advancing west-northwest at 23 mph, with a predicted decrease in speed over the coming days before shifting north-northwest and north by Friday. The NHC forecasts that Jerry’s core will approach or pass north of the northern Leeward Islands late Thursday and Friday, with maximum sustained winds currently at 50 mph and expected to intensify. Rainfall of two to four inches is anticipated across the Leeward Islands, raising concerns of flash flooding, particularly in elevated areas. Additionally, swells generated by Jerry are likely to reach the Leeward and Windward Islands by Thursday, extending westward to the Greater Antilles by Friday, posing life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.