More Saharan dust then rains throughout this week, says Met Office
Gavin Riley / Our Today
administrator
The Jamaica Meteorological Service is today (June 13) warning that while the country remains shrouded in Saharan dust, a trough in the central Caribbean Sea spells heavy rains heading into the middle to the end of this week.
The Met Service, in its 5:00 am bulletin, indicated that in the meantime, Saharan dust and a high-pressure ridge are the two most dominant weather influences.
Waves of dry dust from the world’s largest desert have been affecting the islands of the Caribbean since early May. Satellite imagery tracking the Saharan Air Layer (SAL) on Monday, shows varying degrees of impact over the Eastern Caribbean, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Turks and Caicos Islands, Cuba and the Bahamas.
Further afield, a low pressure system brews in the waters north of Panama and Jamaica is flanked by two tropical waves on the east and west of the island.
Skies over Jamaica are expected to start out partly cloudy, windy and hazy, according to the Met Office. These conditions later give way to more haze and winds, with isolated afternoon showers and thunderstorms mainly across western parishes.
The maximum temperature for major Jamaican cities, Kingston and Montego Bay respectively, is 33 degrees Celcius.
See more in the Jamaica Met Office’s town/city forecast:
| Towns and Cities | Forecast |
| Morant Bay | Morning showers/Windy |
| Kingston | Partly cloudy/Windy/Hazy |
| Half-Way-Tree | Partly cloudy/Windy/Hazy |
| Portmore | Partly cloudy/Windy/Hazy |
| Spanish Town | Afternoon showers/Windy/Hazy |
| May Pen | Afternoon showers/Windy/Hazy |
| Mandeville | Afternoon thunderstorms/Windy/Hazy |
| Santa Cruz | Afternoon thunderstorms/Windy/Hazy |
| Black River | Afternoon showers/Windy/Hazy |
| Savanna-La-Mar | Afternoon thunderstorms/Windy/Hazy |
| Negril | Afternoon thunderstorms/Windy |
| Port Antonio | Morning showers/Windy afternoon |
| Port Maria | Mostly cloudy/Windy afternoon |
| Ocho Rios | Mostly cloudy/Windy afternoon |
| St Ann’s Bay | Mostly cloudy/Windy afternoon |
| Browns Town | Afternoon showers/Windy |
| Falmouth | Mostly cloudy/Windy afternoon |
| Montego Bay | Afternoon thunderstorms/Windy |
| Lucea | Afternoon thunderstorms/Windy |
Fisherfolk and marine interests are also being notified that a small craft warning remains in effect for inshore and offshore areas of Jamaica’s south coast as well as offshore areas of the north coast due to strong winds and rough seas.
For more, see three-day outlook:
Tuesday: Cloudy, windy and hazy.
Wednesday & Thursday: Periods of showers and thunderstorms across most parishes. Windy especially across southern parishes.
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