Caribbean Storm Bret is making its way into the eastern Caribbean as the area scrambles to be ready for an uncommonly early storm and the anticipated torrential rains.
Caribbean Storm On Tuesday, Bret moved into the eastern Caribbean as the area readied itself for an uncommonly early storm and the anticipated copious rainfall.
The National Hurricane Center, which is located in Miami said that Bret had a maximum sustained wind speed of 40 mph (65 kph) and was moving over the Atlantic coast at 21 mph (33 kph), but it issued a warning that it hasn’t been able to “get a better handle on the system’s intensity and size.”
The storm was about 1,525 kilometers (945 miles) east of the Windward Islands, and it is predicted to batter several eastern Caribbean islands on Thursday evening with winds close to a hurricane.
The storm poses a “high threat” to Dominica, according to the island nation’s meteorological service, which has issued warnings of landslides, flooding, and waves as high as 12 feet (4 meters).
The hurricane center advised residents of the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Lesser Antilles to prepare for hurricanes and keep a close eye on the storm.
The position and potential size of Bret’s related hazards cannot yet be determined due to the higher-than-usual range of the track and intensity estimates, according to the center.
Guadeloupe in the French Caribbean, south to St. Lucia, was expected to receive up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain, and Barbados and the islands of St. Vincent and the Grenadines could receive up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) of rain.
Later, as Bret moves over the central Caribbean, unfavorable winds and drier air are predicted to weaken it. Some forecasts indicate that Bret may eventually evaporate after impacting islands in the eastern Caribbean.
The hurricane season in the Atlantic, which started on June 1, got off to a quick and aggressive start when the storm developed on Monday. Following Bret is a tropical disturbance that has an 80% chance of developing into a cyclone. According to Colorado State University meteorologist Philip Klotzbach, no June in recorded history has seen two storms develop in the tropical Atlantic.
Given the elevated sea surface temperatures this season, Virginia Tech meteorologist Stephanie Zick anticipates a higher than typical number of storms to intensify quickly. She added that the number of fatalities from flooding brought on by tropical storms which make landfall has increased over the past ten years.
Tropical storm risks, according to her, “can happen hundreds of miles from the storm center.”