Bridgetown, Barbados, November 9, 2008 (CDERA) -Tropical Storm warnings have been discontinued for the Bahamas. The Government of the Bahamas announced this at 10:00 am EST today, Sunday, November 9, as Paloma weakened over Cuba.

At 10:00 a.m today, Tropical Storm Paloma was located near longitude 21.2 north and latitude 77.9 west and drifting toward the north-north east at 2mph. Maximum sustained winds were 60 mph.  Paloma is forecast to degenerate to a weak area of low pressure by Monday at which time it should be close to the central Bahamas.  Forecasts also indicate that the system is likely to produce additional rainfall of 1 to 2 inches over portions of the Bahamas.

Yesterday, Paloma struck the Cayman Islands and made landfall on Cuba as a Category 4 Storm with 145 mph winds.  This storm is now ranked as the strongest November hurricane on record.