National Hurricane Center Now Watching Two Tropical Storms in the Atlantic
by Daniel McCarthy /The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is now monitoring two storms traveling through the Atlantic, with one expected to dissipate by the weekend.
Tropical Storm Bret and Tropical Storm Cindy, the second and third named storms of the 2023 season, are now both traveling through the Caribbean and could impact some travel over the next few days and into next week.
Both storms are now part of 2023’s hurricane season (June through the end of November), which the NOAA had forecasted to be “near-normal” in 2023, with 12 to 17 named storms.
Tropical Storm Bret
As of 5 a.m. on Friday, Bret was moving towards the west near 18 mph, a direction it’s expected to continue on into the weekend. The storm’s center, according to the NHC, will continue moving westward away from the Windward Islands and across the eastern and central Caribbean Sea during the next couple of days.
As far as conditions, maximum sustained winds are near 60 mph with higher gusts and the NHC said that the storm “is expected to dissipate over the central Caribbean Sea by Saturday night or Sunday.”
For Bret, which the NHC had been tracking all week, a Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Dominica, St. Lucia, Martinique, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The government of Barbados has discontinued the Tropical Storm Warning for Barbados.
In those areas, total rainfall of 3 to 6 inches are possible across portions of the Lesser Antilles from Guadeloupe south through St. Vincent and the Grenadines, including Barbados.
Tropical Storm Cindy
As of 5 a.m., Tropical Storm Cindy, which got a name last night after being called a possible Tropical Depression all week, was located about 990 miles east of the Lesser Antilles, moving west-northwest near 15 mph, a track it’s expected to continue for the next few days.
According to the NHC, “on the forecast track, the system is expected to remain well east and northeast of the northern Leeward Islands through early next week.”
Here are Cindy’s expected arrival times:
Travel Changes
No major North American carrier has been impacted by the storms, but a few smaller intra-Caribbean airlines have been, including Caribbean Airlines, which announced a new schedule of flights on Friday as Bret traveled through.
The Caribbean Airlines changes include flights from Piarco International, George FL Charles Airport, and Argyle International Airport. All passengers are advised to check with their airline before heading to the airport.