The National Defense Council of Cuba issued this Friday Informative Note No. 1 regarding the tropical storm Melissa, which continues to gain strength in the western Caribbean and could become a category 3 hurricane in the coming days before impacting the island.
The entity declared the Informative Phase for the provinces of Guantánamo, Santiago de Cuba, Granma, Holguín, Las Tunas, and Camagüey starting at 2:00 p.m. today, so that the authorities can begin to prepare for the meteorological emergency.
According to the statement, in recent hours Melissa "has shown little change over the Caribbean Sea, remaining nearly stationary."
However, its circulation "is interacting with the trough, causing an increase in humidity and instability over the national territory."
“During the weekend, this cyclonic system will continue to move slowly toward Jamaica and the seas south of Cuba. A gradual strengthening is expected, followed by rapid intensification, posing a potential threat to the eastern provinces,” noted the Civil Defense.
The statement, signed by the National Civil Defense Headquarters, urges the population to stay informed “through national media and official profiles on social networks” and to “strictly follow the instructions given by local authorities.”
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) in the United States reported that Melissa could develop into a powerful hurricane (Category 3 or higher) before approaching eastern Cuba in the middle of next week.
The deputy director of the NHC, Jamie Rhome, explained in an update posted on @NHC_Atlantic that the most likely path places the possible impact between Granma and Santiago de Cuba.
"The cone has shifted slightly to the east, so there is a possibility that the center of the system will pass outside of Cuban territory," Rhome specified.
The NHC's bulletin number 12, issued this Friday at 5:00 a.m. (Eastern Time), details that the system has maximum sustained winds of 75 km/h and a minimum central pressure of 1003 millibars, while it is slowly moving north over the Caribbean Sea.
Its almost stationary movement is causing torrential rain over Jamaica and Haiti, with a risk of flooding and landslides.
For eastern Cuba, meteorologists are forecasting heavy rains, hurricane-force winds, and high waves starting this weekend, with increased danger expected from Wednesday if the system continues to strengthen.
The provinces of Guantánamo, Santiago de Cuba, Granma, and Holguín are considered the most vulnerable. In these areas, local authorities will need to activate disaster reduction plans, although so far no evacuation measures or concrete preventive actions have been reported by the Cuban regime.
Currently, the country is under the influence of a high-pressure system at the surface, with a trough at higher levels that has caused scattered rains in the east and center.
On the northern coast of Guantánamo, heavy rainfall was reported, with a maximum accumulation of 45 millimeters in the town of Jamal over the last 12 hours.
INSMET reported that no tropical cyclonic development is forecasted in the rest of the Atlantic, the Caribbean Sea, or the Gulf of Mexico over the next 24 hours, although it emphasized that “interests in Cuba should closely monitor the progress of Melissa.”
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