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Weather
Partly Cloudy
Max: 85°F | Min: 75°F
| More rainy weather expected |
Krystel Rolle
Guardian Staff Reporter krystel@nasguard.com
Published: Jun 22, 2012
Local forecasters were last night tracking a system that is likely to result in two more days of heavy rain across The Bahamas and could potentially strengthen into a tropical cyclone. Up to last night, the system had a 50 percent chance of strengthening into a cyclone, according to chief meteorologist in the Department of Meteorology, Michael Stubbs. “This system lies to the west of Cuba and is a large area of showers and thunderstorms,” he said. “It just covers the western portion of Florida, Yucatan, and Cuba.” He added that the rainy weather is expected to continue for at least another 48 hours. If the system does strengthen, Stubbs said it is likely to continue to travel north and away from The Bahamas. However, he warned that if the system slows then it would be a concern for parts of The Bahamas. “It could pose some problems for residents of the northern Bahamas if it slows down,” he said. But even if it does not directly pass over The Bahamas, Stubbs said localized flooding is still expected as thunderstorm activity is expected to continue into tomorrow. He said residents should take the necessary precautionary measures. Meantime, Bahamians are being urged to make hurricane preparations. Meteorologists expect the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season, which began on June 1, to be below average. However, Chief Meteorologist Basil Dean said Bahamians should not become too relaxed. “We do not wish for residents to relax their guard because all it takes is one tropical cyclone to make landfall and that can be a very devastating season,” Dean said. “So despite it being forecasted to be a low-activity hurricane season, we want to caution persons to treat each season as though it is an active one.” For this season, weather experts have projected a 70 percent chance of nine to 15 named storms, of which four to eight will strengthen to a hurricane; and of that number, one to three will become major hurricanes. |
