ZCZC MIATCPAT3 ALL TTAA00 KNHC DDHHMM BULLETIN HURRICANE MITCH INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY NUMBER 11A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 2 PM EDT SAT OCT 24 1998 ...HURRICANE MITCH MOVING SLOWLY NORTHWARD... A HURRICANE WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR JAMAICA. A HURRICANE WARNING FOR JAMAICA AND A HURRICANE WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN CUBA WILL LIKELY BE ISSUED LATER TODAY. AT 2 PM EDT...1800Z...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE MITCH WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 15.1 NORTH...LONGITUDE 78.0 WEST OR ABOUT 215 MILES ...345 KM...SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF KINGSTON JAMAICA. MITCH IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH AT 7 MPH...11 KM/HR. A TURN TOWARD THE NORTHWEST IS EXPECTED LATER TODAY OR TOMORROW. IF THIS TURN DOES NOT TAKE PLACE...THE HURRICANE CONDITIONS COULD REACH JAMAICA IN THE NEXT 24 TO 36 HOURS. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 100 MPH...160 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. SATELLITE IMAGES SUGGEST THAT THE HURRICANE IS STRENGTHENING AND A RECONNAISSANCE PLANE WILL BE IN THE AREA TO DETERMINE THE WIND SPEED. HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 45 MILES... 75 KM... FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 115 MILES...185 KM. LATEST MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE JUST REPORTED BY A RECONNAISSANCE PLANE WAS 979 MB...28.90 INCHES. INTERESTS IN ALL OF THE WESTERN CARIBBEAN SHOULD CLOSELY MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF MITCH. REPEATING THE 2 PM EDT POSITION...15.1 N... 78.1 W. MOVEMENT TOWARD...NORTH NEAR 7 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...100 MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE... 979 MB. THE NEXT ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER AT 5 PM EDT. AVILA NNNN