This Wednesday, the first cold front of the winter season arrives in Cuba, bringing a drop in temperatures as well as showers and rain in the western part of the country.
The phenomenon is advancing toward the island through the Gulf of Mexico, and "it is preceded by a prefrontal band with strong activity of showers, rain, and thunderstorms that will begin to affect western Cuba from the late morning and into the afternoon," reported meteorologist Raydel Ruisánchez on social media.
The specialist added that, specifically, the rains and storms can be intense, especially in areas along the northern coast. This phenomenon is accompanied by a drop in temperatures, resulting in cool days and chilly mornings.
"The prefrontal band is moving through the west, producing showers and moderate to heavy rain in the province of Pinar del Río, and is advancing towards Artemisa, now weakened, bringing light to moderate showers and rain in areas of the province," Ruisánchez warned in another subsequent post.
The Institute of Meteorology (INSMET) stated in a bulletin that the western part of the country would be under the influence of showers and some thunderstorms in the afternoon of November 20.
The morning would start with mostly clear skies, although a gradual increase in cloud cover was expected from noon onwards, especially in Pinar del Río and Artemisa, where the precipitation would be more intense.
Those conditions would gradually extend to the rest of the western region.
In the central and eastern regions, the day will start off partly cloudy, with overcast skies in areas along the northern coast, where isolated showers may occur in the morning hours.
Throughout the rest of the day, cloud cover would be sparse across much of the territory, increasing slightly from midday.
According to the forecast, maximum temperatures will range between 28 and 31 degrees Celsius, with higher values in some areas of the southeastern region.
At night, temperatures would drop to values between 21 and 24 degrees Celsius.
INSMET recommended caution in the western region, particularly in areas with a higher likelihood of thunderstorms.
The cold front affecting Cuba will also be felt in southern Florida, where rain and a drop in temperatures are expected, particularly this Thursday.
Meteorologist Elier Pila Fariñas highlighted in an article published in Cubadebate that "the 'cold' is not brought (or caused) by the fronts, but by the mass of air that follows them." He emphasized that the arrival of the front might suggest that the hurricane season is declining, even though the official end is not until November 30.
What will this winter be like?
The aforementioned meteorologist predicted that the Climate Center of the Institute of Meteorology, in its outlooks issued for the annual dry season, indicates "a rainfall pattern close to normal."
Precipitation during this period—the semester from November to April—accounts for nearly a quarter of the total accumulated rainfall for the entire year, primarily associated with cold fronts over or near Cuba.
In terms of temperatures, it is expected that the maximum values will behave normally for this period, although from February to April they will be closer to the upper limit of the climatic behavior.
For the minimum values, the opposite behavior is observed: "although in both quarters they will be within the normal range, in the first quarter they will be closer to the upper values of the same."
"As always, we remind you that weather forecasts are stated in relation to the typical behavior for the period in question, which does not mean that, as usually happens (and many long for), very cold days cannot be recorded," he concluded.
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