Isaac weakens slightly, but still powerful

A satellite image of Hurricane Isaac taken Monday by the National Hurricane Center in Miami

MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- Hurricane Isaac maintained its westward churn on Monday, but its top winds fell from 115 mph (184 km/h) to 105 mph (168 km/h), forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

At 11 p.m. EDT, Isaac was centered near latitude 18.3 north, longitude 42.3 west, or about 1,280 miles (2,060 km) east of the Leeward Islands, at the eastern edge of the Caribbean. The storm was moving to the west-northwest at near 9 mph (15 km/h). Forecasters said this motion is expected to continue for the next 24 hours.

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"It's very far from land and in three days it's still going to be very far away from the islands," said hurricane specialist James Franklin. "If it continues on its present track, it would pass well north of the islands."

Isaac had became a named storm Thursday. At one point, its maximum sustained winds increased to 120 mph (192 km/h).

Satellite photographs Sunday showed its once well-defined eye had become slightly less organized, said hurricane specialist Richard Pasch.

Meanwhile, the 10th tropical storm of the season -- Joyce -- formed behind Hurricane Isaac.

Joyce was moving toward the west near 15 mph (24 km/h) and was expected to continue that movement for the next 24 hours. Maximum sustained winds were near 40 mph (65 km/h) and some strengthening was expected over the next 24 hours. The center of Tropical Storm Joyce was located near latitude 11.7 north, longitude 32.6 west or about 570 miles (925 km) west-southwest of the southwestern Cape Verde Islands.

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