Erika now a tropical depression

MIAMI, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Erika was downgraded to a tropical depression Thursday but forecasters said those in the northern Caribbean Sea should continue to monitor the storm.

All tropical storm warnings associated with Erika have been discontinued, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

At 5 p.m. EDT, the center of the tropical depression was about 130 miles south-southeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and about 325 miles southeast of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The storm was moving toward the west at about 12 mph and was expected to take a turn toward the northwest Thursday night before dissipating, forecasters said.

Erika or its remnants were expected to pass south of Puerto Rico Thursday night and be near or over Hispaniola Friday.

Maximum sustained winds were about 35 mph with higher gusts. Forecasters said Erika could degenerate into a tropical wave at any time.

The Caribbean islands were forecast to get as much as four inches of rain, although Puerto Rico could see isolated rainfall of as much as 8 inches.