Tropical Storm Chantal formed Monday evening, July 7, 2013 in the Atlantic Ocean. As of 7 am Tuesday morning, the storm was about 700 miles east-southeast of Barbados and moving east at 26 mph. The storm has sustained winds of 40 mph making it a minimal tropical storm. Tropical Storm Warnings are in effect for Barbados, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Martinique, and Guadelupe.
Chantal is expected to move through the Caribbean this week, and may eventually reach the Bahamas. The storm is expected to strengthen to a strong tropical storm in the next 48 hours, and then it may weaken again as it crosses the larger islands of the Caribbean.
Computer model forecasts for Chantal