At noon on Tuesday, the centre of Tropical Storm Chris was located near latitude 17.3 degrees north and longitude 60.3 degrees west or about 100 miles east of Antigua.
Chief Meteorological Officer, Arnold King, told The Nassau Guardian yesterday that Tropical Storm Chris will reach the Bahamas in the next 72 hours.
“The projected path, if it follows the forecast, is likely going to affect the southeast Bahamas early Friday morning. They should begin feeling tropical storm force winds,” said Mr King. “In the New Providence area, the affects will be felt by late Friday, early Saturday. Around eight o’clock Saturday morning, we [in the capital] will begin to feel some of the winds.”
Mr King added that experts will continue to closely monitor the storm for any signs of strengthening over the next few days.
“The storm is a pretty small storm at this time, but it may become a much larger storm when it reaches The Bahamas,” he explained. “So it’s likely we are going to get some cloudy conditions, with some rain late Friday into Saturday.
According to the meteorological expert, if the storm follows the most recent projected path, it will travel west of Nassau across south Andros and then move west of Andros and into South Florida.
“So we are not looking at a direct impact in New Providence at this time, but of course you know over time, the forecast can change,” he said.
For this reason, Mr King insisted Bahamians should begin “seasonal” preparations.
“They should keep watch at this time,” he said. “They should make sure their seasonal preparations are in place. They should make sure they trim trees around their house or if such trees are near power lines, [they should] call BEC [to trim they.] Also, they should make sure they have battery operated radios with a supply of fresh batteries. Shutters should also be on hand.”
Meanwhile, according to local experts, TS Chris is moving toward the west-northwest near 10 mph. This general motion is expected to continue for the next 24 hours.
Maximum sustained winds remain near 40 mph, with even higher gusts. Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 35 miles from the centre. Some strengthening is forecast during the next 24 hours.
Weather experts forecast that this storm season will be extremely active. They claim that a total of 17 named tropical storms will form, nine of which will develop into hurricanes and five of which will develop into major hurricanes of category three or higher. Since 1995, the average number of major hurricanes has tripled from 1.5 to four per year and scientists advise storm seasons over the next 20 years will be very active ones.
By: JASMIN BONIMY, The Nassau Guardian
