Tropical Storm Erika weakens

Tropical Storm Erika weakened into a depression today but not before the Dominica government ordered schools and businesses closed as the weather system moved across the Leeward Islands.



In its bulletin just over an hour ago, the Miami-based National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said all tropical storm warnings associated with Erika had been discontinued.



At that time the center of the fifth storm for the hurricane season was 130 miles south-southeast of Puerto Rico and about 325 miles east-southeast of the Dominican Republic.



Earlier the Dominican Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit told citizens to remain at home as the storm, packing winds in excess of 40 miles moved through the island chain.



The Office of Disaster Management warned Dominicans to be careful as landslides were possible as a result of the rain associated with the storm.