Weather

A hurricane watch continues for the entire coast of Belize after the formation of Tropical Storm Lisa in the Caribbean Sea. As of 3PM, the storm continued moving west at 14 miles per hour (MPH) with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph. People on Ambergris Caye have started to prepare for what could be Hurricane Lisa expected to make landfall in Belize late Wednesday.

The National Meteorological Service of Belize and the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) hereby inform the public that at 10:00 a.m. (local time), Tropical Storm Lisa was located near latitude 15.5N, longitude 77.3W or about 735 miles East by South of Belize City. Lisa was moving to the west at 12 mph with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and a minimum central pressure of 1003 mb. Lisa is to continue on a general west to west-north-westward track for the next few days. On this forecast path, the system will move south of Jamaica today, north of the northern coast of Honduras on Tuesday, and then approach the coast of Belize late Wednesday with landfall possible on Belize late on Wednesday night or early Thursday morning. Strengthening is expected and Lisa is expected to be a category 1 hurricane by landfall on the country.

The National Meteorological Service of Belize and the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) hereby inform the public that as at 4:00 p.m. (local time) Tropical Cyclone #15 (TC 15) was located over the Central Caribbean Sea near latitude 15.7N, longitude 73.6W or about 974 miles south of due east from Belize. TC 15 was moving to the west-northwest at 10 mph with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and minimum central pressure of 1005 mb.

Category 1 Hurricane Julia landed in Nicaragua on Sunday, October 9th, bringing destructive torrential rains. The deluge affected nearby countries like Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Belize. In Belize, the areas most affected included the mainland, with flooding in the south and central region of the country.

Tropical Storm Julia as of 4:00 pm local time was located near latitude 13.0N, longitude 74.7W or about 450 miles east of La Providencia, Colombia. Julia was moving to the west at 18mph with maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour and minimum central pressure of 1002 millibars. A generally westward motion is expected to continue through Sunday morning until the system makes landfall in Nicaragua as a category one hurricane. Rapid weakening is expected after landfall with the system becoming a remnant low by Sunday night into Monday morning. Direct landfall from this system is not expected in Belize and hence tropical storm or hurricane conditions are unlikely to affect Belize. However, the system will be a heavy rainfall producer (showers and thunderstorms), which could lead to widespread flooding across the country, especially over the south.

The National Meteorological Service of Belize and the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) hereby inform the general public that potential tropical cyclone 13 with winds of 35 mph is located near 11.5 North Latitude and 67.7 West Longitude or just north of Venezuela and is moving westward at 15 miles per hour. The pressure is 1005 millibars. The system is likely to make landfall on Nicaragua and Honduras. It is expected to weaken rapidly as it moves over mountainous terrain. In that scenario strong winds should not affect Belize. It will likely be heavy rainfall and flooding especially in southern Belize. A potential worse case, but a less likely scenario, is the centre could move more to the north of the forecasted track. If that occurs, we could be dealing with a hurricane which would make landfall on Belize on Monday.

Hurricane Ian battered the Florida peninsula on Wednesday, September 28th, with catastrophic storm surges, winds, and flooding. The badly affected state is home to people from many countries, including Belize, and the Belizean diplomatic mission is already working with local partners to assist those affected.

A weather disturbance with disorganized showers moving west across the Caribbean Sea had Belizeans on alert when it was forecast to become a major storm, with the possibility of heading towards Belize. The storm has developed into Hurricane Ian. According to the most recent models, its path will take it away from Belize, heading north towards western Cuba and the state of Florida in the United States.