The National Hurricane Center on Thursday said Tropical Storm Jerry was getting closer to the Caribbean’s northern Leeward Islands, but was expected to shift away into the open Atlantic.

Tropical Storm Jerry will pass near parts of the northeastern Caribbean with flash flooding, gusty winds, and rough seas before turning north and potentially impacting the Azores next week.

MIAMI — Priscilla lost its hurricane status and was downgraded to a tropical storm as it churned up Mexico’s western Pacific coast, while Tropical Storm Jerry strengthened in the Atlantic early Thursday on its approach to the Leeward Islands, forecasters said.