Jamaicans urged to remain prepared amid above-normal hurricane forecast

The Meteorological Service of Jamaica is encouraging Jamaicans to remain prepared for hurricanes amid the updated outlook for the 2019 Atlantic Hurricane Season by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

The agency said recently that “conditions are now more favourable for above-normal hurricane activity.”  

This is the reason why Director of the Meteorological Service , Evan Thompson, is calling for Jamaicans not to let down their guard.

“What it means is that we have to be prepared and remain prepared as we may see an increase in the number of systems developing throughout the remainder of the season,” he told JIS News.

The forecast for an above-normal season comes as the country has entered into the most active part of the season and includes predicted increases in the types of cyclonic developments.

“The outlook predicts that we could see up to 17 named storms, 5 to 9 of which could become hurricanes, and we could see 2-4 of those becoming major hurricanes,” Thompson said.

These figures are an increase up from the initial outlook of 9-15 named storms, with 4-8 possible hurricanes.

The Atlantic Hurricane Season’s forecast was updated because the El Nino in the Pacific Ocean has ended.

An El Nino occurs when the water of the equatorial Pacific is warmer than normal and causes winds from the east to weaken.

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