Tropical Storm Gonzalo is making its way to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

On Oct. 13 at 11 a.m., the National Weather Service's National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida issued a tropical storming warning for Puerto Rico, as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands and others in the area.

"It is strengthening very slowly," Scott Stripling, a meteorologist tracking Gonzalo from the Center in Miami, said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It's not out of the question that we could see it become a hurricane later this evening or tonight."

Predictions say that the tropical storm will bring up to 8 inches of rain to Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands and the Leeward Islands.

According to Stripling, Gonzalo is expected to travel in a northwest direction, taking it over the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico's Vieques and Culebra islands.

The Weather Channel reports that the tropical storm will most likely pass the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico "early Tuesday."

"We're being told that it's coming this way so people are trying to find safe havens for their boats," Jane Wherren, operations director at Crown Bay Marina, which works with large yachts and luxury watercrafts, told The Associated Press. "Hopefully, all we'll get is some rain, but you have to be prepared as best as you can."

The U.S. Coast Guard are advising those in Puerto Rico to avoid the ocean and shoreline rocks beginning at 12 p.m. on Monday.

Tropical Storm Gonzalo formed on Sunday and could potentially bring up to a foot of rain through Tuesday or Wednesday, The Weather Channel reports. This could cause mud and rockslides in mountainous areas, as well as flash flooding.

The storm already hit Antigua "for several hours" on Monday, according to AP. Winds reached 88 mph.

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Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @ScharHar.

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