Caribbean's Windward Islands prepare for Tropical Storm Harvey

Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Tropical Storm Harvey is expected to move through the Windward Islands into the eastern Caribbean Sea on Friday the U.S. National Hurricane Center advised.

The storm is moving westward at 18 mph, with sustained winds of 40 mph extending up to 60 miles from the center, the center's 8 a.m. advisory said. Its center is located between the islands of Barbados, on the storm's east, and St. Lucia, on its west.

The storm is heading toward St. Lucia. The Barbados government cancelled its tropical storm warning after it passed, but a tropical storm warning is in effect for the islands of Martinique, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and St. Lucia.

The national hurricane center expects rainfall of two to four inches, which could prompt life-threatening flash floods and mudslides across the Windward Islands.