Forecast models continue to show Tropical Storm Isaac moving along a westerly track toward Inagua with further strengthening expected over the next 24 to 48 hours, according to meteorologist Godfrey Burnside.

Mr. Burnside also said that Tropical Storm Isaac’s wind speed has increased to 45 mph and he noted that this speed is expected to increase over the coming days.

When the Bahama Journal spoke to Mr. Burnside late Wednesday, the storm’s coordinates were latitude16.0 degrees north and longitude 61.2 degrees west and 25 miles south southeast of Guadeloupe and 773 east southeast of Mathew Town, Inagua moving in a westward track at 22 mph.

At 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, Alert No.1 on Tropical Storm Isaac was issued.

“An alert means that Tropical Storm conditions can be felt or experienced on the island of Inagua within the next 60 hours. Residents should begin to make some preparations as Tropical Storm Isaac moves west at this time,” the alert said.

The system, which first developed in the Lesser Antilles Monday, could develop into a category 2 hurricane by the weekend.

“Inagua residents can expect some strong winds of 20 knots to 30 knots probably even gusting to 40 knots with heavy downpours of rain and thunderstorm activity,” Mr. Burnside said.

A tropical storm has maximum sustained winds between 35 knots to 64 knots or 39 mph to 73 mph.

Tropical storms can cause significant problems even without becoming a hurricane and usually result in heavy rainfall.

So far, Tropical Storm Isaac is the first system to pose a considerable threat to The Bahamas during this hurricane season.

Last year, several islands in The Bahamas were battered by Hurricane Irene, which ripped through the parts of the country with at times 115 mph winds.

Acklins, Rum Cay, Cat Island and Mayaguana were among the islands left reeling from the category 3 hurricane’s fury.