tropical storm

Forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm system, which has already caused flooding in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti, could become Tropical Storm Bonnie by later Thursday and reach the Gulf of Mexico by Saturday.

By early Thursday afternoon, the center said the depression had maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 kph), with stronger gusts, and was centered about 250 miles (400 kilometers) southeast of the Bahamian capital of Nassau.

Forecasters said a reconnaissance plane was nearing the depression to determine if the system had become a tropical storm.

Skies darkened and people stocked up on water and food in the southern Bahamas and Turks and Caicos, island chains that are well-accustomed to rough weather. Many businesses remained open, but schools were already closed for the summer.

“There’s definitely some lightning and thunder out there,” said Johanny Lightbourne, a manager at a market in the island of Providenciales in Turks and Caicos. “But it’s still business as usual, pretty much.”

Donna Musgrove, a businesswoman in Providenciales, said some streets were flooded. “It’s raining from one end of the island to the other,” she said. “The skies are completely dark.”

By Thursday afternoon, the tropical depression did not pose a threat to tourist resorts in the islands.

Residents in the southeastern Bahamas endured heavy rains and copious lightning, but no damages or injuries have been reported. Officials with the Emergency Operations Center said they would travel to the area with basic supplies as soon as the weather improves.

A tropical storm warning was issued for the central and northwestern Bahamas, for Florida’s east coast south of Golden Beach and also along Florida’s west coast northward to Bonita Beach.

The system is expected bring heavy winds and rains to the Florida Keys in the next few days, but emergency officials said they were not planning any mandatory evacuations since they are not expecting any major storm surge.