At 500 PM AST (2100 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Bret was
located near latitude 12.2 North, longitude 48.6 West. Bret is moving toward the west near 18 mph (30 km/h), and this general motion is expected to continue for the next several days. On the forecast track, the center of Bret is expected move across portions of the Lesser Antilles Thursday afternoon and Thursday night, and then move across the eastern Caribbean Sea on Friday. Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 45 mph (75 km/h) with higher gusts. Additional strengthening is forecast during the next day or so, and Bret is expected to be a tropical storm when it reaches the Lesser Antilles Thursday and Thursday night.