T.S. Claudette could be hurricane by Thursday

Tonight, Belizeans are being advised to monitor local radio stations, and if possible, the Weather Channel, as tropical storm Claudette is gearing up to become a hurricane…in our area…by Thursday night. According to Meteorologist Justin Hulse, tropical storm Claudette is the fastest moving storm he’s ever seen, travelling west at a clip of some thirty miles an hour. Experts estimate that Claudette, with current sustained winds of fifty miles an hour, should be south of Jamaica tomorrow morning and in our area by Thursday night. Hulse says by then Claudette would have strengthened into a category one hurricane with minimum winds at approximately seventy-four miles an hour. Even with the unpredictable paths of such storms, Claudette could slowly turn left or right and avoid us, but if she does make landfall in Belize, the good news is that damage would be limited as it would not bring much rainfall and would move over the country quickly. The last known storm to travel at such a fast pace was Hurricane Janet in the 1950s. Authorities are advising the public not to panic, but to closely monitor the movements of Claudette.