Tomas has regained strength this morning and now is a category one hurricane with winds reaching 85 mph. Movement is currently to the northeast around 10 mph and the center of the storm sits just to the west of the already battered Haiti. Low wind shear, high moisture and warm waters make it an ideal environment for Tomas to continue to strengthen within the next 24 hours before weakening some later this weekend. While it's not expected that Haiti will receive a direct hit, the affect will still be devastating to a country that dealt with an earthquake at the beginning of the year and most recently a cholera outbreak. Regardless of the exact track of Tomas, the most significant threat will be the heavy rainfall and mud slides. This could produce major flash flooding due to the mountainous terrain and lack of vegetation for over 1 million people.
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