Miami, Florida (CNN) -- Hurricane Tomas strengthened to a Category 2 storm as it traveled through the eastern Caribbean on Sunday morning, forecasters said.
Earlier, as a tropical storm, Tomas damaged homes and downed power lines in Barbados, according to the Miami, Florida-based National Hurricane Center.
Early Sunday, Tomas was 90 miles (140 kilometers) west-northwest of St. Vincent and about 95 miles (150 kilometers) west of St. Lucia, the hurricane center said. Its maximum sustained winds were 100 mph (155 kph), making Tomas a Category 2 hurricane.
The storm was moving west-northwest at 8 mph (13 kph), the center said.
A tropical storm warning was in effect for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Dominica and Martinique, forecasters said.
Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 40 miles (65 kilometers) from the storm's center, with tropical storm-force winds extending outward 175 miles (280 kilometers). Early Sunday, wind gusts of up to 48 mph (78 kph) were reported on Martinique, the hurricane center said.
Tracking maps show Tomas becoming a Category 3 hurricane as it crosses the Caribbean toward Jamaica.
Well north of Tomas, Tropical Storm Shary posed no threat to land as it raced across the Atlantic. It was expected to weaken until the system becomes absorbed by a cold front Saturday night, forecasters said.
As of 4 p.m. Saturday, Shary was about 530 miles (855 kilometers) south-southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland. It had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kph) and was moving northeast at 48 mph (78 kph).
CNN
