Bad Weather Forces Closure of Schools Across Belize

Inclement weather over the weekend force the closure of schools across the country today.  It followed the passage of a weather system over the region that brought with it approximately ten inches of rainfall since Friday.  In Belize City, several streets were inundated.  Along the Philip Goldson highway, a number of properties were also under water.  The latest flood forecast indicates that a flood warning is in effect for the Mopan River, Roaring River, the Belize River and several other tributaries across the country.  Earlier today, News Five spoke with Chief Met Officer Ronald Gordon concerning the weather being experienced.

Ronald Gordon

Ronald Gordon, Chief Meteorological Officer

“We had an area of low pressure, a broad area of low pressure that moved over Central America during the weekend.  That system started affecting us from as early as Friday.  Before that, we had a frontal boundary that produced some rainfall and then that system began affecting us on Friday with intense showers and thunderstorms across the country.  For the most part, the showers and thunderstorms and rainfalls had been concentrated over the central parts of the country, that is the Belize and Stann Creek districts, and extending into the inland areas as well.  Rainfall totals, based on the network of automatic weather stations, ranges from about just around two inches in the extreme north and south, but to a very high of about almost ten inches in the central parts of the country, particularly in the Stann Creek Valley area and also extending into the Hummingbird Highway, Middlesex, Hershey and those areas.  We saw almost ten inches of rainfall since Friday from this system.”