Maximum sustained winds decreased to 90 miles (150 kilometers) per hour, downgrading Tomas to a category one hurricane and was now moving west-northwest over the open sea at nine miles (15 kilometers) per hour, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

Tropical storm force winds extended 175 miles (280 kilometers) from the center, about 180 miles (290 kilometers) west of St. Lucia.

According to the Miami-based NHC, Tomas will take a turn toward the west on Monday as it continues to move across the eastern Caribbean over the next couple of days. It also forecast some "slight weakening" by late Monday.

On Saturday, Tomas damaged homes and downed power lines in Barbados and St. Lucia.

The governments of Barbados, St. Lucia and France dropped all tropical storm warnings for several Caribbean islands, including the French overseas department of Martinique.

Some models showed Tomas tracking toward Haiti late next week. Hundreds of thousands of displaced people are huddled in the impoverished nation's precarious tent cities in the wake of a devastating January earthquake, even as Haiti also reels from a cholera outbreak.

The water-logged Caribbean basin region has already endured a heavy 2010 rainy season, particularly for Central America and southern Mexico. The ground in many areas is saturated and more rain could easily trigger landslides and flooding.

earlier related report
Hurricane Tomas hits Barbados, St. Lucia, churns westward
Miami (AFP) Oct 30, 2010 - Hurricane Tomas hit Barbados and then St. Lucia Saturday battering the Caribbean islands with strong winds that tore off roofs and snapped trees.

With maximum sustained winds of 150 kilometers (90 miles) per hour, Tomas' core was "moving away from St. Vincent and St. Lucia," said, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said.

Earlier Saturday, Tomas slammed into Barbados causing "damage to homes and downed power lines... on the island," the NHC said.

"Tomas is now a category one hurricane... Additional strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours" as it heads west, it added.

The 12th storm of the Atlantic hurricane season is expected to strengthen "during the next 48 hours," the NHC said, as the storm churns west-northwest.

Rain accumulations of up to 20 centimeters (eight inches) in some areas and "a dangerous storm surge" are predicted for the islands.

Forecasters track Tomas heading west towards Jamaica, saying it could reach a category two storm by Monday and possibly a dangerous category three on Wednesday.

By mid-week, some models predict Tomas might veer toward Haiti, where thousands have huddled in precarious tent cities since a devastating January 12 earthquake.

The water-logged Caribbean basin region has endured a heavy 2010 rainy season, particularly for Central America and southern Mexico. Grounds are saturated with moisture in many areas, and more rain could easily trigger landslides and flooding.

Tomas was the second storm in the Atlantic basin to intensify to hurricane strength on Saturday.

Tropical storm Shary was upgraded to a hurricane early Saturday and was churning up the central Atlantic Ocean far from any mainland, the NHC said.

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