A tropical disturbance has developed, three weeks after the end of the hurricane season, prompting warnings of a possible storm developing this week.BRIDGETOWN, Barbados,– A tropical disturbance that has developed off Barbados is threatening to create an unusual Christmas storm.
The National Hurricane Centre (NHC) in Miami has identified a small, but well-defined low pressure system about 275 miles east-southeast of the island that has a small chance of developing into a storm this week, just a few days before Christmas.
According to the forecasters, even if it doesn’t develop, it will bring rains and gusty winds to the island today or tomorrow.
The NHC said that while environmental conditions are not conducive for development at this time, they could become more favourable sometime today, resulting in a brief window of opportunity for some development as the low passes over or near the southern and central Lesser Antilles.
“There is a medium chance – 30 percent – of this system becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours as it moves toward the west-northwest or northwest at 10 to 15 miles per hour. Regardless of development, this system will bring locally heavy rainfall and gusty winds to much of the Lesser Antilles during the next day or so,” the NHC said in its weather outlook yesterday.
A very active Atlantic Hurricane Season ended three weeks ago and it is very unusual for a tropical storm to develop this late in the year.
The season was one of the busiest on record. The 19 named storms that formed this year tied with 1887 and 1995 for third highest on record. Of those, 12 became hurricanes, tying with 1969 for second highest on record. Five of those reached major hurricane status of Category 3 or higher.
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