Earlier storm warnings a possibility

Barbados may soon be able to receive earlier and more accurate warnings on approaching storms.
One month away from the start of the 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season, Prime Minister Mia Mottley revealed that the island will have advanced use of the Hurricane Hunter plane, which collects data to determine the system’s strength and predict landfall probabilities.
“We have been agitating for some time that we need to be able to have the positioning of the Hurricane Hunter at an earlier point. We are at 59 degrees and I am told that there has already been a decision on the part of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) to pre-position it, that will benefit us by an additional day to two of early warning depending on the pace of movement of the system. The ideal I am told is five days. If what you have done has now brought us to three to four days, we are now in reach of the ideal,” she said.
Speaking at the opening of the workshop on Climate Services to Support Adaptation and Resilience in the Caribbean, hosted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology at the Accra Beach Hotel, Mottley commended the NOAA for its assistance in the matter.
Recalling several occasions where successive governments came under heavy criticism from the public for shutting down the island due to predicted bad weather without the event occurring, she said if the planes could collect information closer to the islands, a higher level of accuracy could be achieved.
“One of the benefits of reliable Early Warning Systems is to minimise that type of risk, and to minimise the loss of expenditure, but equally to ensure that when meteorologists speak that people listen and act,” she added.
The prime minister stressed the importance of the public being aware of the status of climate change challenges now confronting the island on a monthly basis.
“Whether it is Saharan dust intrusion, whether it is the Sargassum bleaching, whether it is coastal flooding or coral reef bleaching, whether it is the excessive heat between July and October, every month presents a climate risk for the Caribbean.
(JB)