Tropical Storm Jose is slowly meandering off the East Coast of the US and bringing heavy rain, dangerous surf, and tropical storm-force winds to southern New England.
Jose was downgraded to a tropical storm Tuesday night and continues to affect much of the East Coast, according to the latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center.
Tropical storm warnings are in effect for parts of New England from Woods Hole, Massachusetts to Sagamore Beach Massachusetts, including Block Island, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and Cape Cod, as of 8 a.m. ET on Thursday. Those areas can expect tropical storm conditions.
Jose's center will most likely stay out at sea, but the NHC reported that much of the East Coast will continue to feel dangerous surf and rip currents for several days because of the storm. Swells from Jose have also affected the Bahamas and Bermuda.
Even if Jose stays offshore as expected, parts of the coast and Mid-Atlantic are expected to experience powerful gusts of wind, heavy rainfall, and dangerous ocean conditions.
Jose was at one point a powerful Category 4 storm. It menaced parts of the Caribbean that had already been devastated by Hurricane Irma but turned north and spun a loop in the Atlantic. That weakened Jose to tropical storm status, but an Air Force "hurricane hunter" plane found that the storm strengthened again over the weekend.
As of 8 a.m. ET Thursday, Jose had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph, with some higher gusts, and was stationary off the East Coast, where it's expected to meander over the next several days. Gradual weakening is expected over the next couple of days and Jose is expected to become post-tropical on Friday.
This year's Atlantic hurricane season has been unusually active, and we're just now at the peak time for storm activity.
Hurricane Maria, a powerful storm, is currently moving through the Caribbean. The hurricane has caused major destruction on the islands of Dominica, Puerto Rico, and St. Croix, and is moving near the Dominican Republic now.
Jose is a particularly big storm, so if it stays where it is, that could help keep Maria away from the East Coast of the US.
Rebecca Harrington and Mark Abadi contributed to this post.
