Coming dry season will be normal, says meteorologist

While tremors in Belize are a rare occurrence, the onset of the dry season is an annual affair with important implications for agriculture and tourism. According to meteorologist Frutos, the 2008 version will not bring anything too radical.

Ramon Frutos, Acting Chief Meteorologist
“The predictive model, the outlook for February, March, April and May, rainfall, for out part of the Caribbean and Central America is indicating that rainfall over Belize and Guatemala, Honduras will be normal to above normal. There’s a forty-five percent probability that rainfall will be above normal for Belize, a thirty percent probability that will be normal, and a lesser probability that it will be below normal.”

“That indicates then that we will have our normal dry season, but we could have some extended periods of dry spell within that normal range. That means that we could have fourteen or twenty days without rain on a continuous basis and that could be hazardous, especially for areas that are vulnerable to bush fires and forest fires.”

Frutos says the Met Office has already started to liaise with the Forest Department, farmers and agro-processors, providing them with regular reports on the situation. He also advises residents without access to municipal systems to start conserving water.