NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Department of Meteorology is monitoring two disturbances in the Atlantic Ocean/Caribbean Sea today.
Chief climatological officer Michael Stubbs said the first is a tropical wave that has a 20 percent chance of developing into depression within the next 48 hrs; and the other is a broad low pressure area that has a 70 percent chance.
Stubbs told Eyewitness News officials were closely monitoring the second disturbance as the tropical wave is not expected to pose any significant threat to The Bahamas at this time.
However, the tropical wave could still bring some thunderstorm conditions to the southeast Bahamas in the coming days.
“That is going to continuously move to the west at 20mph across the eastern and central Caribbean Sea,” Stubbs said on the tropical wave.
“It’s going to continue to move westward and produce showers and thunderstorms over the Caribbean Sea area and bring some thunderstorm conditions to the southeast Bahamas as we get closer to the weekend.”
The National Hurricane Centre said the tropical wave is over the eastern Caribbean Sea, and producing an area of disorganized thunderstorms and gusty winds. Its formation chance increases to 60 percent through the next five days.
The broad area of low pressure is located about 900 miles west-southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands, according to the centre.
It is producing a concentrated area of showers and thunderstorms.
Stubbs said: “The disturbance is still some distance away for the Caribbean islands. It’s over 1,500 miles to the east of Barbados. So really that one is the one we should be playing attention to.”
He continued: “This one is a bit more organized and in light of that it has a 70 percent chance in the next 48 hours to become a depression or a 90 percent chance in the next five days to become a depression.
“That’s one we have to watch more closely, that is moving toward the west northwest between 15 to 20 mph. We don’t have the exact projected area that this will traverse at the moment, but maybe by about 6pm we could have a better outlook on this one.”
In its 8am update, the National Hurricane Centre said the system is moving westward to west-northwestward at 15 to 20 mph across the central and western portions of the tropical Atlantic.
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