MIAMI — The National Hurricane Center (NHC) issued a bulletin July 30 that places Palm Beach County under a tropical storm watch due to the development of Tropical Storm Isaias, which was crossing Puerto Rico and expected to begin brushing coastal areas with high winds and squalls beginning Friday, July 31.

There still is not great certainty whether the storm either will grow or weaken, the NHC indicated.

From a 2 o’clock advisory Thursday afternoon, July 30, the NHC placed PBC under the watch. Tropical storm warnings were in effect already for the Bahamas, Dominican Republic and Haiti, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the southeastern, central and northwestern Bahamas.

The tropical storm watch extends from the Ocean Reef to Sebastian Inlet as of 5 p.m. Thursday.

“A Tropical Storm Watch means that tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area, generally within 48 hours,” the NHC advises.

Isaias is expected to escalate into a hurricane sometime Friday, July 31.

Maximum sustained winds were at 60 mph as the storm emerged off Puerto Rico and headed north on Thursday evening.