By Makeida Antonio
The Christmas season is definitely here and residents of the twin island are being told to brace for more chilly conditions for the next few nights, due to minimal winds.
Climatologist Dale Destin advised that going into the weekend temperatures are expected to fall into the teens in some areas.
“We are looking at the winds being lighter than usual for the next few days through the weekend and there’s also a northerly component coming from cooler areas.
“So, over the next few nights into the weekend, we are looking at cooler than normal temperatures and we are going to likely see temperatures falling into the high teens on the Celsius scale or the upper sixties on the Fahrenheit scale,” Destin told Observer yesterday.
It is unlikely that there will be an increase in rainfall though the temperature may fall, according to Destin, who is also the Director of the country’s Meteorological Services.
“This has nothing to do with rainfall. There is a cold front near our area that is causing showers across Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. We don’t believe that it is going to reach us, so our drier than usual weather, our drought conditions, will continue pretty much unabated,” Destin explained.
He also reported that the country did not experience the anticipated levels of rainfall during the wet season. As a result, drought conditions will persist as the dry season approaches.
“With us not getting our quota of rainfall from the wet season, we’re now going into the drier months, the dry season. We are now looking at quite a bit of stress with the absence or the deficiency of rainfall that we have experienced over the past 10 months or so.”
Meanwhile, hot days will continue as a reduction in winds will cause people to feel the effects of daytime heat. As such, an excessive heat advisory was put into effect yesterday and will last throughout the daytime until Saturday between 10am and 2pm.
“Oftentimes when the winds are as light as we are projecting them to be, during the daytime period you tend to get warmer than usual temperatures. A combination of warmer than usual temperatures along with relatively high humidity, you get an effect of excessive heat,” Destin illustrated in weather terms.
Residents have been advised to stay hydrated during this time.
“Not necessarily that temperatures will soar to extreme levels but because the winds are pretty much absent you get the heat index or what we call the ‘feels like’ temperature rising to levels that can be a health issue for many, especially those who are vulnerable to the heat or work outdoors,” Destin added.