BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – Residents of and visitors to St. Kitts Nevis are being asked to monitor a weather system, Tropical Storm Maria, which is expected to affect the Leeward Islands sometime over this coming weekend.
The system which was a tropical depression up to this morning (Sept. 7), was recently updated to tropical storm status.
And according to information obtained from the St. Kitts Meteorological Office, Maria is currently located approximately 1414 miles to the east south east of St. Kitts and the projected path suggests that the Federation will begin feeling its effects sometime between 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Saturday (Sept. 10).
Maria travels in a west-north-westerly direction at about 23 miles per hour (mph) and has maximum sustained winds of 50 mph.
SKNVibes understands from the St. Kitts Met Office that by 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, it is expected to pass 50 miles away from Basseterre, St. Kitts.
National Disaster Coordinator, Carl Herbert, in speaking with SKNVibes, asked that residents monitor the system and reminded all to take the necessary precautions to prepare themselves for any eventualities.
“I just want to appeal to residents that as Tropical Storm Maria approaches we need to be vigilant and actively prepared, that is, making certain that we recognise that tropical storms are weather systems that do create quite a lot of damage especially if there is flooding.
We are appealing to persons to ensure that at their premises, whether domestic or commercial, there are no items around that can become missiles that would fly through the air in a storm.
“We want to appeal to persons to stay indoors while weather systems are passing. Also, we want to urge persons not to drive vehicles in ghauts and water courses that may be flowing heavily and to avoid – especially pedestrians – trying to cross ghauts and water courses during heavy flow as one can be washed down during passage of those heavy flows of water.”
He also reminded persons to stock up on nonperishable items, and to secure important documents in plastic containers.
The St. Kitts Met Office indicated to this publication however, that the federation may experience thunderstorms as early as this evening (Sept. 7), which are associated with a nearby tropical wave.
“Clouds associated with a westward moving tropical wave are expected to spread across the northwest Caribbean today and tonight. This will bring cloudy skies with scattered showers over St. Kitts and Nevis today and tonight. Isolated thunderstorms are also possible during its possible.”
