Chantal no longer a tropical storm

MIAMI, July 10 (UPI) -- Chantal weakened from tropical storm to tropical wave in the Caribbean Sea Wednesday but could still generate gusty winds and heavy rain, forecasters said.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said in its 5 p.m. EDT advisory the storm was centered about 230 miles east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 260 miles south of the eastern tip of Cuba. It had maximum sustained winds of 45 miles per hour and was moving westward at 23 mph.

The storm's deterioration allowed the governments of Jamaica and the Bahamas to drop their tropical storm watches and warnings.

Still, the hurricane center advised anyone with interests in eastern Cuba, Jamaica and the Bahamas to monitor the progress of the storm's remnants, which were expected to spread over Jamaica and eastern Cuba Wednesday night into Thursday, and into the northwestern Bahamas and over or near the Florida peninsula by Friday.

Despite being degraded, Chantal could still produce storm surges that could cause localized coastal flooding along portions of the southern coast of Hispaniola, the hurricane center said.

Rainfall could range from 3-6 inches across the region.