MIAMI – Tropical Storm Oscar continues to slam parts of eastern Cuba with torrential rain and strong winds, leading to fears of life-threatening flooding and mudslides after the former hurricane made landfall late Sunday afternoon.
Oscar made landfall near Baracoa in the Cuban province of Guantanamo just before 6 p.m. ET as a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 80 mph – its second landfall of the day.
Earlier on Sunday, Oscar made its first landfall on Great Inagua Island in the Bahamas – also as a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 80 mph.
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The small but mighty storm rapidly intensified from a tropical storm into an 85-mph hurricane on Saturday, causing islands in its potential path to issue watches and warnings ahead of the system’s arrival.
As of the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Tropical Storm Oscar had winds of 45 mph and was moving off to the west at 2 mph.
The NHC said that slow-moving Oscar is continuing to dump heavy rain across eastern Cuba, and that will likely continue through the first part of the week.
Forecasters said that will lead to areas of significant, potentially life-threatening flash flooding along with the threat of mudslides in the region, especially in the Sierra Maestra mountains. However, the threats aren’t specific to Cuba. The NHC says areas of the southeastern Bahamas are also at risk of seeing flash flooding as the storm moves back through the region this week.
Tropical Storm Watches and Warnings remain in effect for portions of Cuba and the Bahamas. The NHC says tropical storm conditions are expected in the warning area and possibly the watch area of Cuba on Monday.
Tropical storm conditions are also expected in the warning area of the southeastern Bahamas and possibly within the watch area in parts of the central Bahamas on Monday night or Tuesday.
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Some high rainfall totals are also expected across the region.
The NHC says rainfall totals of 7-14 inches with isolated amounts of up to 20 inches are expected across eastern Cuba, especially in the higher elevations of the Sierra Maestra.
“This rainfall will lead to areas of significant, life-threatening flash flooding along with mudslides,” the NHC warned.
In the Bahamas, rainfall totals of 3-5 inches are expected with isolated amounts of up to 8 inches that could also lead to flash flooding.
The NHC says Tropical Storm Oscar is expected to make a turn to the northwest and north later on Monday, followed by a faster movement toward the northeast on Tuesday and Wednesday.
On that forecast track, the NHC says the center of Tropical Storm Oscar is expected to continue to push through eastern Cuba and then reemerge off the northern coast later on Monday or Monday night before moving near the southeastern and central Bahamas on Tuesday.
Oscar is one of the smallest cyclones on record in the Atlantic Basin, with hurricane-force winds (74-plus mph) previously only extending outward 5 miles from the center.
A Hurricane Hunter aircraft also determined the cyclone’s eye was just more than 3 miles wide, making it one of the smallest features since Hurricane Wilma in 2005.
Due to Oscar’s small size, fluctuations in intensity will be common, as the cyclone can take advantage of pockets of dry air and shear.
Oscar became the second storm to get a name on Saturday, joining Tropical Storm Nadine, which was christened early Saturday morning near Belize. Nadine later dissipated over southern Mexico on Sunday.
Original article source: Tropical Storm Oscar slams Cuba with torrential rain, life-threatening flooding after moving through Bahamas
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Publish date : 2024-10-19 06:12:00
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