Dec 12, 2007 6:39 pm US/Eastern
Olga Weakens Into A Tropical Depression
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
A weakening Tropical Storm Olga turned into a Tropical Depression Wednesday afternoon, after it crossed the mountainous areas of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. It is now centered over the waters between Haiti and Cuba.
Warnings have been discontinued for Hispanola, Warnings continue for the Southern Bahamas as Olga continued heading west.
As of 5 p.m. the storm was about 65 miles north of Kingston, Jamaica zipping along westward at 23 mph. It was barely a tropical storm earlier Wednesday, with maximum sustained winds at about 40 mph. Now it's maximum sustained winds are at 35 miles per hour.
Olga's strength weakened as it passed the mountainous regions of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. An upper level wind sheer has put the lid on any new development for the system.
The storm's heavy rains were feared because of their potential to cause flash floods and mudslides in those area. The storm could also dump up to ten inches of rain over eastern Cuba. By this weekend the depression could reach South Florida, bringing some heavy rainfall for the area.
Olga struck nearly two weeks after the official end of the Atlantic hurricane season. It's only the tenth named storm to develop in the month of December since record keeping began in 1851.
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