A tropical wave will bring lots of rain to the V.I. this weekend and has already forced the cancellation or postponement of a number of planned outdoor events.
Friday featured thunder, lightning, rain and some gusty winds. Jose Alamo, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in San Juan, said to expect more of the same at least through Monday.
“It’s not going to be better until after Tuesday,” Alamo said Friday.
According to Alamo, “it wouldn’t be out of the question” to see wind gusts of up to 25 mph. Alamo said they’ll be especially prevalent during thunderstorms.
Alamo urged residents to be on the alert for mudslides caused by the extended period of rain. A flash flood advisory remains in place until Saturday morning.
The inclement weather caused some postponements. The BVI/USVI Friendship Day activities scheduled for Friday night at Emile Griffith Ballpark on St. Thomas were postponed.
"We will announce a new date for the fast pitch softball games between teams from the BVI and USVI," said David Edgecombe, Assistant to the Governor for External Affairs and Chairman of the Friendship Day Committee.
As of Friday afternoon, a decision had not been made about Saturday’s ceremony and other BVI/USVI Friendship Day events planned for Yacht Haven Grande.
V.I. Fire Service Assistant Director Daryl A. George said the Fire Prevention Week Parade scheduled for 4 p.m. Sunday is postponed.
Friday’s weather problem is caused by a atmospheric trough sitting over the Virgin Islands, V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency Director Mark Walter said. It could dump two to four inches of rain on the territory.
“We experienced mostly cloudy skies this morning with weather radar continuing to detect numerous showers and thundershowers across the regional waters as well as over the major land areas in the U.S. Virgin Islands,” he said.
Walters said that seas will remain up to six feet and winds should average between 12 and 17 knots. Small boat operators should exercise caution across the offshore Atlantic waters.
Whether the tropical wave approaching the region develops into a depression remains to be seen, but Alamo said he thought it would be through the area before that happened. Alamo said that the National Hurricane Center on Friday afternoon gave it a 30 percent chance of become a depression.
Hurricane season runs through Nov. 30.
