More rains forecasted for weekend

The increase in water levels has affected livestock, tourism and the agriculture sector, damaged properties, and disrupted communities where residents have had to be evacuated. District Emergency Teams are stationed in areas prone to flooding in the Cayo and Belize Districts. And with waters still rising, the news is not good because the Meteorological Service is forecasting even more rains over the weekend but brace up because there is some good news and that is because a cold front is in sight.

Ramon Frutos, Acting Chief Meteorologist
“All that water from Cayo has not reached this area as yet; it is still coming down. Over the past twenty-four hours, water levels in the Belize River, in the tributaries and in the Crooked Tree Lagoon area, where some of this water is being discharged, the water levels rose almost another foot and we expect it to continue on this trend. We still have a run-off coming into the Mopan River and that run-off will add to the levels of the water on the Mopan once again. And that is another flood wave that probably is developing and will move down the Mopan into the Belize River.”

Frutos says, however, that the good news is that seasonal changes will cool down temperatures as we approach the end of the Hurricane season.

Ramon Frutos
“So we should see an improvement in the weather, but not until late Sunday or through Monday and Tuesday. And that’s good news because then at least this convective activity will move away.”

Duane Moody
“How high is the water expected to rise with this …”

Ramon Frutos
“With the added rainfall that we expect? Well, the models are indicating that we can get up to two or three inches more in the next day or two as we enter into the weekend. That means today Friday, Saturday and even Sunday morning. But I think by Sunday, the high pressure system will already establish itself over Yucatan and Belize and the rains will be diminishing.”

“If the front sweeps through on late Sunday and Monday, that would be the first cold front for the winter season for Belize and that’s good news too because what happens is then that is heralding the beginning for the winter periods for us which basically means that the hurricane season is coming to an end. We are almost, ninety, ninety-five percent completed with this hurricane season.”

But Frutos cautions that we must not forget that Hurricanes Mitch and Hattie did not develop until the end of October and we must stay prepared.