Fast Moving Weather System This Way Comes
We will have detailed report on the unnamed weather system, classified by the National Hurricane Center as Invest Ninety-seven L, which continues to make its way across the eastern and central Caribbean. The fast moving tropical wave has a ninety percent chance of forming into a tropical system over the next five days. While the cluster of showers and thunderstorms probably won’t organize much during the forecasted period, emergency management officials are not taking any chances. According to the local weather report, the system is headed towards the Yucatan Peninsula with Belize in its current path. News Five spoke with forecaster Derek Rudon earlier today and he told us what to expect of the developing system.
Derek Rudon, Meteorologist
“There’s a strong tropical storm with an embedded area of low pressure on it over the Caribbean Sea, south of Hispaniola at the moment and moving west at a pretty good pace of about twenty knots. That system should be in our area late Wednesday into Thursday.”
Isani Cayetano
“What can we expect should this particular system make landfall later in the week?”
Derek Rudon
“Well all the global models are developing it into some tropical cyclone whether it’s a depression, a storm or a hurricane we’re not sure yet. But all the models are developing it further so we can expect a tropical cyclone to be in our vicinity late Wednesday and probably pass through Belize Wednesday night.”
Derek Rudon
Isani Cayetano
“The National Emergency Management Organization, as well as the City Emergency Management Organization has apparently wasted no time in mobilizing and starting to organize what efforts are needed to be put in place to sort of deal with people in the event that this thing does become a stronger system and it comes our way directly. What can you advise at this point? I know this is fairly in its nascent stage in terms of building up to become something. What can you advise at this point for boaters or people who live in coastal areas or what have you?”
Derek Rudon
“I would advise people to look at their plan again, their hurricane plan and to stay tuned to their radio for updates from NEMO. This system is moving fast so, like I said, tomorrow would be the day to prepare and to move because by Wednesday then the weather would certainly deteriorate rapidly.”
Isani Cayetano
“Based on the forecasted trajectory here, is there any specific part of the country where this would be concentrated once it makes landfall?”
Derek Rudon
“At present we can’t say specifically but the north would be more likely dur to the fact that most of the intense weather with a hurricane or a storm is on the northern side or the northeast quadrant. And if it makes landfall over central Belize then the northern portions of the country would get the brunt of it.”
The latest NEMO advisory indicates that the system is likely to become a tropical depression or storm within the next six to twelve hours. The tropical wave is likely to continue to move in a westward direction at about twenty to twenty-five miles per hour. Should the system become a tropical storm we can expect winds within the range of fifty to sixty miles per hour with estimated rainfall to be between four to six inches. And as we said, NEMO has sprung into action just in case conditions are to worsen.
