The Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service (TTMS) is on alert as an active tropical wave is nearing the country and the remainder of the Windward Islands.
The National Hurricane Center, in a special Tropical Weather Outlook issued at 10:55 AM, raised the development chances of this wave to medium (50%) over the next 48 hours and high (70%) over the next five days.
They stated, “Satellite data indicate that the tropical wave located several hundred miles east of the Windward Islands has become better organized this morning. Additional development is expected, and a tropical depression is likely to form within the next few days as the system moves westward to west-north-westward at 15 to 20 mph across the eastern and central Caribbean Sea. Interests in the Windward Islands should closely monitor the progress of this system as heavy rainfall, and gusty winds could affect these islands beginning on Wednesday.”
The TTMS echoed these sentiments in their second official statement on the system, issued at 9:41 AM Tuesday, saying, “On this present course, this system is expected to move across the Windward Islands during Wednesday/Thursday. Regardless of cyclone development, this system is expected to bring unstable conditions, resulting in moderate to heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorm activity, affecting Trinidad and Tobago and the Windward Islands.”
Currently, there is also Hurricane Fiona in the Atlantic at Category 3 strength, battering the Turks and Caicos with sustained winds of 185 KM/H, storm surge, and torrential rainfall. Further north in the Atlantic, the newly formed Tropical Depression Eight is forecast to move into the open Atlantic Ocean through the next several days. Both of these systems pose no direct threat to Trinidad and Tobago. The following names on the list of names for the 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season are Gaston and Hermine.