September 26, 2023 – NEWS ITEM ON TROPICAL STORM PHILIPPE ISSUED BY THE BAHAMAS DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY FORECAST OFFICE SECTION, AT 6:00 PM TUESDAY 26^TH, SEPTEMBER 2023

…PHILIPPE REMAINS DISORGANIZED …

AT 5:00 PM AST, THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM PHILIPPE WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 17.1° NORTH AND LONGITUDE 51.3° WEST OR ABOUT 780 MILES EAST OF THE NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLANDS.

PHILIPPE IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST AT 13 MILES PER HOUR.  

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 45 MILES PER HOUR WITH HIGHER GUSTS. GRADUAL WEAKENING IS EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT FEW DAYS.

PREPARED BY FORECASTER: P.W.

From the Turks & Caicos Department of Meteorology:

Synopsis: At 11 AM AST, the center of Tropical Storm Phillipe was located near latitude 17.3 North, longitude 50.3 West, or about 1387 miles east-southeast of Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands. Philippe is moving toward the west near 14 mph. A westward to west-northwestward motion is expected during the next few days. Phillipe continues to struggle under strong shear which is not expected to let up over the next several days. This could potentially lead to a weaker system drifting westward towards the vicinity of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Potential Impacts: Too early to know the level impacts Phillipe might have on the Turks and Caicos Islands as this is dependent on its track and intensity.

The Turks and Caicos Islands National Weather Service will continue to closely monitor the progress of Tropical Storm Phillipe. Stay tuned to updates coming out of the National Weather Service, twitter.com/tcinws and facebook.com/tcinws. Also, stay tuned to DDME social media platforms and the DDME Alert App for updates.

Dana Malcolm

 Staff Writer  

September 11, 2023 – Hurricane Lee has turned slightly from the original forecast path revealed last week, pushing it further away from The Caribbean and southeastern US and decreasing the possibility of landfall.

In addition to that welcome news shared by meteorologists on Sunday, wind shear across the Atlantic Ocean has slowed Hurricane Lee down and pushed it from a Category 5 to a Category 2 hurricane but they are warning residents not to let their guard down. After strengthening from Category one to five in under 24 hours last Thursday.  The twelfth named system, despite  recording a drop in intensity,  is expected to strengthen again in the next couple of days.

The system is forecast to pass near to the Northern Caribbean on Monday and adverse effects were already being reported by Sunday including very rough seas.

“Lee’s core is expected to pass well north of the Northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico during the next couple of days,” the National Hurricane Center explained.

Because of its proximity, dangerous surf and life-threatening rip currents are already affecting portions of the northern Leeward Islands, the British and U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, the Turks and Caicos Islands, The Bahamas, and Bermuda.

The NHC says it is too soon to tell what effects Lee could have on the countries nearest to it as the hurricane is forecast to slow down later this week.

The Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies (DDME) in the Turks and Caicos is warning that locals should continue to monitor Hurricane Lee’s progress as the country will be negatively impacted in the coming week.

Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

August 14, 2023 – July has been confirmed as the hottest month ever recorded globally. This is according to the European Union’s climate observatory.

The month was 0.33 degrees Celsius higher than the record set in July of 2019 when the average temperature was 16.63 degrees Celsius (32 Fahrenheit), the observatory said.

This temperature brought new levels of warmth as expressed by Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, who said, “It has not been this warm, combining observational records and paleoclimate records, for the last 120,000 years.”

She highlighted that the global average for July is confirmed as the highest ever recorded for any month, pointing out that it “is estimated to have been around 1.5 degrees warmer than the average for 1850 to 1900,” adding that it was also warmer than the 1991-2020 average for the month.

This is no surprise as heatwaves have been frequent globally.

In fact, these heat waves over the years have become more severe. Since the late 1800s, 1.2 degrees Celsius of global warming due to various factors such as the burning of fossil fuels is to blame and it has led to the intensifying of other weather phenomena such as storms and floods.

Considering this, according to the observatory, “Heatwaves were experienced in multiple regions of the Northern Hemisphere, including southern Europe. Well-above average temperatures occurred over several South American countries and around much of Antarctica.”

Additionally, ocean temperatures also rose to 20.96 degrees Celsius on July 30th, as revealed by the observatory’s data, up from the previous record of 20.95 degrees Celsius in March of 2016 according to a spokeswoman for Copernicus Climate Change Service.

It is important to note that these temperatures are dangerous for all living things as pointed out by Burgees.

She said, “These records have dire consequences for both people and the planet exposed to ever more frequent and intense extreme events,” adding that, “2023 is currently the third warmest year to date at 0.43C above the recent average, with the average global temperature in July at 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.”

She continued to highlight that these revelations only further shine light on the need to take stronger actions to combat global warming.

“Even if this is only temporary, it shows the urgency for ambitious efforts to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, which are the main driver behind these records,” she maintained.