The stormy weather which resulted in a double island-wide blackout over the weekend was caused by the tail end of Hurricane Ophelia, said local meteorologists who were closely monitoring an area of thunderstorms east of the Turks and Caicos Islands last night.
The lightening, heavy rain and wind experienced in New Providence on Saturday and Sunday were caused by a trough extending from the category one hurricane, according to Met Officer Patricia Clarke, who said stormy conditions were expected to last for a few more days.
“It is still there lingering over the northern Bahamas, particularly Grand Bahama, so the same type of weather we experienced over the weekend – the cloudiness, thunderstorms and showers – we can expect to experience for the next few days,” Ms Clarke told The Tribune yesterday.
The Met Office had been closely monitoring Ophelia, which last week looked like it might have changed course towards Grand Bahama; however, it remained on its northern track and is now safely away from the islands and is no longer a threat, said Ms Clarke.
On her current track, Hurricane Ophelia was expected to make landfall in North Carolina later in the week. That state remains on hurricane watch and already the governor has issued an evacuation order for persons living in low-lying areas.
By: Cara Brennen, The Tribune
