Paula weakens to a depression near the north coast of central Cuba

October 15th 2010

Tropical Storm Paula weakened to a depression near the north coast of central Cuba on early Friday morning, forecasters said.

As of 5 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT), the center of Paula was located about 105 kilometers (65 miles) east of Varadero, a resort town on the north coast of central Cuba. It is moving toward the east near 22 kilometers (14 miles) per hour, a general motion which is expected to continue with a decrease in forward speed.

According to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center, Paula has weakened to maximum sustained winds near 55 kilometers (35 miles) per hour, with higher gusts.

"Paula has continued to weaken during the past several hours," said Jack Beven, a forecaster at the National Hurricane Center. "There have been no reports of tropical-storm-force winds from Cuban stations since the center passed Havana."

Beven said the depression will likely degenerate to a remnant low pressure area by Saturday, and several forecasting models show the system dissipating completely by Sunday.

Still, Beven said, Paula is expected to produce additional rain accumulations of 1 to 2 inches over central Cuba and the central Bahamas through Saturday. "Storm surge flooding along the coast of north central Cuba should subside today," he added.

Paula has not resulted in any casualties as of early Friday morning, although some damage has been reported throughout area in Cuba.