Storm Bret – latest update: Caribbean on alert for potential hurricane as season’s first named storm builds

Tropical storm Bret is building in strengh over the central Atlantic and could become a hurricane in the next couple of days, the US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) has said in its latest advisory, putting Caribbean islands on alert.

“The system should be approaching the Lesser Antilles by late this week,” the hurricane centre said in its advisory.

The storm, about 1,210 miles (1,945km) east of the southern Windward Islands, is packing maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour (65kph), the Miami-based forecaster said.

“Environmental conditions appear conducive for strengthening over the next few days, with a much warmer than normal ocean in the depression’s path, along with plentiful mid-level moisture and light shear,” the centre said.

The storm is raising concerns in the Caribbean as it potentially threatens the Leeward or Windward islands later this week.

The Leeward Islands, located where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic, include the Virgin Islands, Saint Martin, and Antigua and Barbuda. To the south are the Windward Islands: Dominica, Grenada, Martinique and others.