Go-Jamaica Weather Watch

A flash flood watch remains in effect for low-lying and flood-prone areas of all parishes.

A flash flood watch means flooding is possible and residents are advised to take precautionary measures and be ready for quick action if flooding is observed or if a warning is issued.

The watch is to be lifted at 5 p.m.

In issuing the advisory, the Meteorological Service said conditions associated with a Low Pressure are expected to worsen and a tropical cyclone could form during the next day or two, as the system moves towards the western Caribbean Sea.

The Met Office says as the system moves closer to Jamaica, heavy showers will spread across the island and flash flooding is possible.

The Met Office is advising small craft operators, especially fishers on the cays and banks, to exercise extreme caution as thundershowers and strong, gusty winds are forecast over southern waters.

Fisherfolk in port are also being urged not to venture far from the mainland

Forecasters at the United States-based National Hurricane Centre have warned that Hurricane Igor could further strengthen as it moves westward.

Igor grew from a tropical storm to a hurricane on Saturday night and swelled from category 2 to category 4 in three hours yesterday.

The Hurricane Centre says Igor is forecast to further strengthen during the next 48 hours.

While the forecasters say it’s too early to make any definitive predictions about Hurricane Igor’s path, they say it could cross the northern Caribbean, possibly heading toward Bermuda.

Igor has become the fourth hurricane of the 2010 Atlantic season, following Alex, Danielle and Earl.

Hurricane Earl travelled up the east coast of the US and Canada earlier this month, toppling trees and power lines and causing minor flooding.

At 4.00 p.m. the centre of Tropical Storm Igor was located near latitude 13.9 degrees north and longitude 23.9 degrees west or about 120 kilometres south-southwest of Praia in the Cape Verde Islands.
 
Igor is moving toward the west near 9 km/h. A turn toward the west-northwest with an increase in forward speed is expected on Thursday. On the forecast track, the centre of Igor is expected to pass south of the Cape Verde Islands.
 
Maximum sustained winds are near 75 km/h, with higher gusts. Slow strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours and Igor could become a hurricane by the weekend.
 
Tropical Storm Igor is not a threat to Jamaica.

An increase in showers is likely to affect Jamaica from Thursday to Saturday as a Trough, remnants of Tropical Storm Gaston, moves across the island on Friday.

The Trough is currently producing showers and thunderstorms across much of Hispaniola and especially the waters south of Haiti.

The forecast is for periods of showers and thunderstorms across most parishes during the afternoons of Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Fishers and other marine interests are advised to exercise caution, as gusty winds and rough seas are likely in the vicinity of showers and thunderstorms.

HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC – A tropical storm warning was issued for Bermuda on Thursday as Tropical Storm Fiona took aim at the island.

 Fiona, packing maximum sustained winds of 50 miles per hour (85 kilometres per hour), is expected to pass around 20 miles to the northwest of the island early on Saturday, bringing squally showers, the Bermuda Weather Service (BWS) said.

 At 3.00pm local time, Fiona was around 450 miles south of Bermuda, moving north-northwest.

Tropical storm conditions are expected on Friday evening into Saturday morning, the BWS said, adding that “a generally unsettled theme will continue into the new week as Fiona moves away northeast.”

 Slow weakening in Fiona is forecast during the next 48 hours, the National Hurricane Centre in Miami said.

Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 115 miles (185 km) from the centre, mainly to the east.

Early last month Tropical Storm Colin fizzled out as it approached the island while last week Hurricane Danielle, a powerful Category four storm, passed well to the east of the island, bringing little rain and only moderately strong winds.

 Bermuda is currently 10 inches down on rainfall for the year.

Gaston, the season’s newest tropical storm which formed yesterday, is expected to strengthen into a hurricane over the weekend.

 It’s currently in the open Atlantic but is forecast to head west toward the northeast Caribbean.

 Gaston follows on the heels of Fiona which is moving away from the region and will likely veer toward Bermuda over the next several days.

 Meanwhile, a tropical storm watch has been issued for the British territory.

Before Fiona, there was Hurricane Earl which caused between $50 and $150 million in insured losses in the Virgin Islands, St Maarten, St Martin and Puerto Rico when it blew through the northeast Caribbean earlier this week.

MIAMI, CMC – Tropical Storm Fiona was moving over the open Atlantic on Wednesday, but Caribbean countries were keeping a close watch on Gaston, the fourth named tropical storm in 11 days.

At 4.00 pm local time, Gaston, the seventh named storm of the 2010 season, was located 1635 miles east of the Leeward Islands and the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said that while there were no coastal warnings or storm watches in effect, it was necessary for residents in those islands to monitor its progress.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Fiona moved over the Atlantic and all warnings for the Caribbean have been discontinued.

The center of Fiona was located 150 miles north of Anguilla and approximately 185 miles north east of St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands.

MIAMI, CMC – Fiona was downgraded to a minimal tropical storm but forecasters said that severe weather conditions could spread over portions of the northern leeward Islands later on Tuesday or early Wednesday.

The Miami-based National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said that Fiona was 270 miles east of the Leeward Islands and had maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour.

Severeal Caribbean countries, including Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, Anguilla, St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius, said a storm watch would remain in effect while a strom warning had been issued for St. Martin and St. Barthelemy.

At 5.00 local time, the center of the storm was located near latitude 16.7 north, longitude 57.7 west and is moving towards the west-northwest near 24 miles per hour.

NHC said that a turn towards the northwest with a decrease in forward speed is anticipated on Tuesday night and Wednesday and that on the forecast track, “the center of Fiona is expected to pass near or northwest of the northern Leeward Islands late tonight or early Wednesday”.

Meanwhile, the regional airline, LIAT said that its services are expected to operate as scheduled on Wednesday.

“The only exception to this resumption of service is likely to be Anguilla where the airport remains closed following the passage of Hurricane Earl,” the airline said, adding that due to the impending passage of Fiona, passengers should be aware that some disruptions and delays are likely to occur.

MIAMI, CMC – Hurricane Earl continues to strengthen as it makes it way across the northern leeward islands on Monday forcing the closure of airports and the cancellation of several flights by the regional airline LIAT.
At 8.00 am local time, Hurricane Earl, the season’s third named storm was located 25 miles north-northeast of St. Martin and about 140 miles east of St. Thomas.

The Category Two storm has winds of 110 miles per hour and the governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Anguilla, Saint Martin, Saint Barthelemy, St. Maarten, Saba, St. Eustatius, the British and United States Virgin islands said a hurricane warning remained in effect  for those islands.
The Miami-based National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said that Earl is moving towards the west-northwest near 14 miles per hour and that a turn to the northwest is expected on Tuesday.
“On the forecast track, the center of Earl will pass near or over the northernmost Leeward Islands this morning and near the Virgin Islands this afternoon and this evening,” NHC said, adding that “additional strengthening is forecast and Earl is expected to become a major hurricane later today”.
The regional airline has already announced the cancellation of a number of its flights and the Antigua and Barbuda authorities have said that the VC Bird International Airport has been closed as the hurricane makes its way across the region.
Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer has also appealed to citizens to make use of the designated shelters on the island and “to take every necessary precaution to protect the lives of their families and property and most importantly to provide assistance to your neighbour who may be in need of help”.
In St. Kitts and Nevis, heavy winds and rain were battering the twin island federation, but weather forecasters said the conditions could continue late into Monday.
Local radio stations said there were no reports of injuries and officials with the National Emergency Management Agency were urging residents to stay indoors.
In Montserrat, disaster management officials were assessing the impact of the hurricane.
Preliminary reports sare that a number of raods were blocked by flood waters and debris but there were no reports of injuries.

Some residents remained without electricity service as the Montserrat Utilities Limited checked the impact on its network.

MIAMI, CMC – Residents in the Northern Leeward Islands were on Friday urged to monitor the progress of Tropical Storm Earl that could become a hurricane by Sunday.

The Miami-based National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said that the storm was now located latitude 15.7 north, longitude 43.6 west or about 1,300 miles of the Northern Leeward Islands.

It could become the third hurricane of the 2010 season, following Hurricane Danielle, a Category Four Storm that was 480 miles south east of Bermuda on Friday.

The NHC said that while there are no coastal watches or warnings in effect for Earl, residents in the Northern Leeward Islands should monitor its progress.

“Earl is movingtowards the west near 17 miles per hour. This general motion is expected to continue through Sunday. Maximum sustained winds remain near 45 miles per hour with high gusts. Earl could become a hurricane by Sunday,” NHC said.

Regarding Hurricane Danielle, the NHC said that it is expected to pass well to the east of Bermuda by Saturday night.