Seigonie Mohammed
The chances of a tropical system developing east of the Caribbean have decreased, but forecasters say heavy rainfall, gusty winds and choppy seas could still affect parts of the Lesser Antilles this weekend.
The Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service (TTMS) says the active tropical wave is now about 1,400 km east of the Lesser Antilles, moving closer to the region.
As of 2 pm Thursday, its showers and thunderstorms had become less organised and the system no longer had a closed circulation.
The wave is also expected to encounter increasingly unfavourable conditions for strengthening as it continues westward, mainly due to significant Saharan Dust concentrations present in the atmosphere.
But here’s the important part: development or not, the weather is still coming.
The TTMS expects the wave to begin affecting the Lesser Antilles from late Friday night into Saturday, with heavy rainfall and gusty winds possible, particularly across the northern Windward Islands.
As for Trinidad and Tobago, there are currently no watches or warnings in effect for the islands.
Farther north in the Atlantic, Cristobal has weakened from a tropical storm to a post-tropical cyclone. It remains over the open Atlantic and poses no direct threat to the Caribbean.
And there’s another system on the tropical conveyor belt.
A tropical wave that recently emerged from Africa is also being monitored as it travels westward across the Atlantic.
