Dana Malcolm 

Staff Writer 

December 5, 2023 – On November 30th, we marked the close of yet another nail-biting, heart wrenching, roller coaster of an Atlantic Hurricane season and the National Hurricane Centre has ranked 2023 the season as fourth for ‘Most-named Storms in a Year.’

Initially predicted to be a lower than average season because of El Nino, the year smashed that early forecast and got active quickly crossing the finish line just short of earning a podium moment.  In real life, finishing on top of the heap is a good thing, when it comes to Hurricane Seasons, not so much.

In early June alone there were two named storms in the basin. Specifically Brett and Cindy and while it is common to get a storm prior to the official June 1 start of the season, the Atlantic basin has never before recorded two named systems in the month of June, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Another crucial moment was the rapid formation of four storms back to back. Emily, Franklin, Gert, and  Harold all materialized in a record-breaking 39 hours during the month of August.

Overall there were 22 tropical depressions in 2023 with 21 falling inside the parameters of the Hurricane season and one in January. There were  20 named storms overall, seven of them becoming hurricanes (Don, Franklin, Idalia, Lee, Margot, Nigel and Tammy) and three major hurricanes: Category 4 hurricanes: Franklin and Idalia and Lee, which climbed to Cat 5 status.

Colorado State University had warned of a possible 18 named storms with as many as nine hurricanes and four major hurricanes in an updated forecast mid-season.  In early 2023 they had previously predicted 15 named storms with seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes.  CSU came closest with its prediction, which still underestimated what June 1 to November 30 would bring this year.

The increased activity was blamed on warmer sea temperatures. These temperatures happened in what is now on record as the ‘hottest year’ ever.

“The Atlantic basin produced the most named storms of any El Nino-influenced year in the modern record,” said Matthew Rosencrans, lead hurricane forecaster at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center — a division of NOAA’s National Weather Service.

“The record-warm ocean temperatures in the Atlantic provided a strong counterbalance to the traditional El Nino impacts,” the NHC said.

Countries that suffered direct impact/landfall included St Vincent & the Grenadines; Bermuda, the United States, Canada, Antigua & Barbuda and Nicaragua. Other countries reported damage from passing hurricanes and tropical storms including Haiti, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, USVI and the Turks and Caicos.

More than two dozen are confirmed dead across the Atlantic following flooding and other dangerous conditions resulting from tropical storm activity in the 2023 hurricane season, with property damage so far recorded at just over $3 billion.

In mid-November a surprising rainstorm (aka Tropical Depression 22) wreaked havoc in countries like the Dominican Republic where at least 30 people were killed in Santo Domingo due to shocking landslides.

Photo by Paul Dellegatto, Tampa Florida River Walk

Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

The Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) informed that the Caribbean Climate Justice Alliance, in preparation for the upcoming annual COP28 in 2023, launched its “Caribbean Climate Justice and Resilience Agenda,” outlining the priorities for climate justice and resilience in vulnerable Caribbean small island developing states (SIDS).

In a press release, CANARI highlighted that the agenda recognizes the major threat of climate change to the region as well as aims to louden the voices of the at-risk groups “on the frontlines of the climate crisis and catalyze actions for climate justice and local resilience in the Caribbean SIDS.”

The priorities stated under the agenda are:

1. Curbing emissions to limit global temperature

increase to 1.5 ̊C

2. Scaling up locally-led solutions for adaptation and

loss and damage

3. Improving access to and delivery of climate finance

for frontline communities, small and micro enterprises, and civil society organizations as part of a ‘whole of society’ approach

4. Scaling up just, nature-based solutions for resilience

5. Supporting a just transition for pro-poor, inclusive,

sustainable and resilient development

6. Promoting gender equity and social inclusion

approaches to climate action

7. Promoting youth and intergenerational equity as

core to the climate response

8. Integrating a rights-based and earth-centered

approach in addressing all these priorities and ensuring climate justice

The at-risk groups referred to in the release include small-scale farmers and fisherfolk, rural women producers, income-poor people, elderly and disabled people, Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities, migrants, and LGBTQIA+ people.

Being cognizant of the severity of the effects of climate change on the Caribbean, CANARI referred to the fact that the very existence of the region is on the line.

“If greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated and global temperature exceeds 1.5 ̊C, the impacts of rising sea levels, more intense hurricanes, rainfall variability, ocean acidification, and other changes threaten the very existence of our way of life in the Caribbean and other SIDS that have contributed the least to global emissions.”

PUBLIC FORECAST FOR THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS FOR THE NEXT THREE DAYS

FROM WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2023 

GENERAL SITUATION: A FRONTAL BOUNDARY NEAR THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS CAN SPUR SOME ISOLATED SHOWER ACTIVITY ACROSS THE ISLANDS LATER TODAY.

ALL AREAS 

WEATHER: PARTLY SUNNY AND BREEZY TODAY. MOSTLY FAIR WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS POSSIBLE TONIGHT.

ADVISORY:                SMALL CRAFT CAUTION 

WINDS:    EAST TO SOUTHEAST AT 15 TO 20 KNOTS

SEAS:        4 TO 6 FEET

DAYTIME HIGH TEMPERATURE               86°F           30°C

OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPERATURE          79°F           26°C

SUNSET:  5:06 PM

NEXT LOW TIDE:      3:57 PM   (1.0 FT)

NEXT HIGH TIDE:     9:33 PM   (2.3 FT)

EXTENDED FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS: THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY IS EXPECTED TO MOVE NORTHWARD ON THURSDAY. THE COMBINATION OF LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE AND AN UPPER-LEVEL TROUGH WILL GENERATE UNSETTLED WEATHER ACROSS THE ISLANDS ON FRIDAY AND INTO THE WEEKEND.

FORECAST FOR THURSDAY     

WEATHER: PARTLY CLOUDY AND BREEZY WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS POSSIBLE.

WINDS: EAST TO SOUTHEAST AT 15 TO 20 KNOTS

SEAS: 4 TO 6 FEET

SUNRISE: 6:00 AM

SUNSET: 5:06 PM

LOW TIDE:  03:41 AM (0.3 FT)                                     04:44 PM (1.0 FT)

HIGH TIDE: 10:16 AM (3.0 FT)                                     10:17 PM (2.3 FT)

FORECAST FOR FRIDAY 

WEATHER: PARTLY CLOUDY AND BREEZY WITH CHANCE SCATTERED SHOWERS. CHANCE OF RAIN IS 30%. PARTLY CLOUDY AND BREEZY WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS LIKELY AT NIGHT. CHANCE OF RAIN IS 60%.

WINDS: EAST TO SOUTHEAST AT 15 TO 20 KNOTS

SEAS: 4 TO 6 FEET

SUNRISE: 6:01 AM

SUNSET: 5:05 PM

LOW TIDE:   04:28 AM (0.3 FT)                                    05:35 PM (1.0 FT)

HIGH TIDE:  11:06 AM (3.0 FT)                                    11:05 PM (2.0 FT)

TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK:  

• SOUTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN SEA: A BROAD AREA OF DISORGANIZED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE SOUTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN SEA IS ASSOCIATED WITH A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE. THIS SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO MOVE NORTHEASTWARD ACROSS THE WESTERN AND CENTRAL PORTIONS OF THE CARIBBEAN SEA. REGARDLESS OF DEVELOPMENT, THIS SYSTEM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE HEAVY RAINS OVER PORTIONS OF THE CARIBBEAN COAST OF CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE GREATER ANTILLES THROUGH THE WEEKEND.

CHANCE OF FORMATION THROUGH 7 DAYS…MEDIUM…50 PERCENT

• OFFSHORE SOUTHEAST COAST OF UNITED STATES: A NON-TROPICAL AREA OF LOW PRESSURE IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP NEAR SOUTHERN FLORIDA ALONG A SURFACE TROUGH OVER THE NEXT DAY OR SO. THIS SYSTEM IS THEN FORECAST TO MOVE NORTHEASTWARD NEAR THE BAHAMAS AND OFFSHORE OF THE EAST COAST OF THE U.S. LATE THIS WEEK AND OVER THE WEEKEND.

CHANCE OF FORMATION THROUGH 7 DAYS…LOW…10 PERCENT