Tropical Storm Watches has been discontinued for the islands of the Southeast Bahamas.This includes the islands of Acklins, Crooked Island, Long Cay, Samana Cay, Ragged Island,Mayaguana, and Inagua.

Tropical Storm Watch has also been discontinued for the entire Turks and Caicos Islands.

However, residents in the Southeast Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands shouldexpect heavy rainfall, gusty winds and rough seas, beginning Saturday.

This disturbance is expected to produce rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches with isolatedamounts of up to 5 inches over the Southeast Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands onSaturday. Extensive flash-flooding is anticipated. Swells are expected to be as high as 7 feet.These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip currents.

At 7 pm EST, the disturbance was centered near Latitude 19.4 degrees north and Longitude 77.1degrees west, or about 85 miles northeast of Montego Bay Jamaica, 140 miles west-southwest ofGuantanamo Bay, Cuba, 250 miles southwest of Matthew Town Inagua, 355 miles southwest ofProvidenciales, Turk and Caicos, and 390 miles south of Nassau.

The system is moving faster toward the northeast near 17 mph and an acceleration is expectedthrough the weekend. On the forecast track, the center of the system is expected to move acrossSoutheastern Cuba tonight and the Southeastern Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands Saturdaymorning.

Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph with higher gusts. Some slight strengthening ispossible during the next couple of days, but the system’s chance of becoming a tropical cycloneappears to be decreasing.