MIAMI, United States. – Tropical storm Oscar remains practically motionless over eastern Cuba, which aggravates the risk of flooding, especially in the province of Guantánamo, according to reported the Forecast Center of the Institute of Meteorology (INSMET) of the Island.
At 9:00 am this Monday, the center of Oscar was located at 20.2 degrees north latitude and 75.3 degrees west longitude, approximately 10 kilometers northwest of the city of Guantanamo. The system is moving towards the west at a minimum speed of 4 kilometers per hour and maintains the most intense nuclei of precipitation over Guantanamo territory.
On the other hand, due to its friction with the mountainous region of eastern Cuba, the meteorological phenomenon has continued to weaken: its maximum sustained winds have decreased to 75 kilometers per hour, although it is still classified as a tropical storm. The minimum central pressure has increased to 1,000 hectopascals.
Oscar is expected to maintain little movement in the next few hours, beginning to move between the west-northwest and the northwest during the rest of the morning. “In the next few hours, rains, showers and thunderstorms will persist, affecting a large part of the eastern region, which will continue to be strong and intense in some localities and in mountainous areas,” INSMET warned.
The eastern provinces will experience tropical storm force winds, ranging between 50 and 65 kilometers per hour, with higher gusts. Likewise, strong storm surges will continue on the northern coast of Guantánamo, Holguín and Las Tunas, causing light to moderate coastal flooding in low areas, including the Baracoa seawall.
INSMET emphasized that “the greatest attention should be paid in the eastern provinces to the evolution and future trajectory of Tropical Storm Oscar, in particular to the occurrence of intense rains, which can cause flooding in these provinces.”
For its part, the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC) agreed in which a turn in the storm’s movement toward the northwest and north is expected later today, followed by a more rapid movement toward the northeast on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“On the forecast track, the center of Oscar is expected to continue moving across eastern Cuba until this afternoon, then emerge off the northern coast of Cuba late today or tonight and move near the southeast and center of the Bahamas on Tuesday,” the NHC noted.
Precipitation associated with Oscar could accumulate between 175 and 350 millimeters, with isolated amounts of up to 500 millimeters in eastern Cuba, especially in the Sierra Maestra. “This rainfall will cause areas of significant and life-threatening flash flooding along with landslides,” the NHC warned.
Currently, the provinces of Las Tunas, Holguín and Guantánamo are under a tropical storm warning, while the northern coast of Camagüey is under surveillance, according to the NHC.
