Downpours forecast for regions One and Two
-Chief Hydromet Officer
Above normal rainfall is expected for the remainder of the rainy season and authorities on Friday said regions One and Two are areas of major concern ahead of the downpours forecast for today and tomorrow.
Dr. Garvin Cummings, Chief Hydrometeorological Officer of the Hydrometeorological Office, made the remarks during a press conference on Friday when the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) provided an update on the ongoing countrywide flooding.
“We are in fact forecasting above normal rainfall for the rainfall season as of this point while there will be an update at the end of this month, we don’t anticipate that the weather forecast would change significantly,” Dr. Cummings stated while adding that the forecast is being compared to the historical average.
He noted that for last month they had recorded significantly more rainfall than usual and even as we are just over the halfway point in June authorities are already seeing an above normal rainfall in the coastal regions and Region Nine with parts of Region Six experiencing same.
“We anticipate again that given the trends we have seen that we will see excessive rainfall in line with the forecast for the rest of this month and July and perhaps into the first two weeks of August as well,” he further added.
He mentioned that for the season so far, every four to five days Guyana is being affected by tropical waves coming across the Atlantic into Guyana’s territory
and thus influencing the weather. Recently, Cummings noted, there has been some influence of the Saharan Air Layer or dust coming out of the Saharan desert, suppressing rainfall.
“Over the weekend… we expect that there will be a reduction in rainfall perhaps between one to two inches in a 24-hour period,” he said.
However, today and tomorrow, another tropical wave is expected but the impact may be restricted to regions One and Two and as a result those regions are of major concern for those two days, with approximately two to three inches of rainfall expected in 24 hours.
“I think the critical days moving forward would be Monday and Tuesday,” he said, while adding that the authorities will put all parties on alert that regions One and Two are likely to be affected.
Subsequently Dr. Cummings stressed that later this week reduced rainfall is again expected.