Tropical Storm Tomas pounds Barbados

As heavy rains and winds pound sections of Barbados, the National Meteorological Service in its latest release on Tropical Storm Tomas says the system is expected to become a hurricane later today.
The Met Office also states that by Thursday of next week the system could be a major hurricane just to the east of Jamaica .

As the storm now heads towards the northern Windward Islands, the government of Barbados has  ordered a nationwide shutdown of the island and the Director of the Department of Emergency Management Judy Thomas urged all citizens to remain indoors as weather conditions were expected to worsen.

Earlier today, the regional airline LIAT and American Airlines announced that they had cancelled flights into and out of the Grantley Adams International Airport on the island's southern tip.

According to reports out of Barbados several homes have already lost their roofs and many roads are impassible.