And the west was calm

WESTERN BUREAU: THE FIVE parishes in Cornwall, western Jamaica, enjoyed relatively calm weather throughout the day yesterday, even as the country braced for anticipated thunderstorm conditions as Hurricane Matthew drew closer to the island.

In St James, Trelawny, Hanover, Westmoreland and St Elizabeth, weather conditions were described yesterday as mostly quiet, with overcast conditions in St Elizabeth and light showers in sections of St James being the only anomalies reported.

Reports out of Westmoreland were that the authorities had received cooperation from residents with regard to moving into designated shelters, with the Godfrey Stewart High School in Savanna-la-Mar being set aside for residents of the informal community of Russia.

It has also been reported that, in contrast to the usual expectations of Monday activities, not as many people were on the roads, an indication that the threat of the approaching hurricane was being taken seriously.

Late yesterday afternoon, the Meteorological Service lifted the hurricane warning that was in effect for Jamaica, and downgraded it to a tropical storm warning.

Despite the adjustment, Matthew was still classified as a Category Four storm, and Jamaica was expected to be affected by heavy rains, gusty winds and thunderstorms between last night and this morning as the storm travelled along a projected path towards the west coast of neighbouring Haiti.