The Tribune

WHILE former Tropical Storm Dorian is likely to remain disorganised, disruptive downpours will hit the Bahamas and continue to spread northwestward into the end of the week.

In most cases, Dorian’s impact will be an unwanted downpour or brief squall, say forecasters, but for a few locations, it could be more significant.

Dorian is essentially a tropical wave, or a very weak tropical disturbance at this time, but it still poses travel disruptions and perhaps occasional risks to lives and property.

People in the path of Dorian should continue to monitor the system, especially from the standpoint of enhanced rainfall, possible flooding and locally gusty thunderstorms.

Popular cruise stops in Nassau and Freeport, Bahamas, bathers and sun worshipers could face some disruptions.

During today into tomorrow, areas likely to be impacted the most from Dorian are the central and southern Bahamas and central Cuba.

From late Thursday into Saturday, the area from the northern Bahamas to South Florida and central and western Cuba would have the most impact from the system.

Bahamas Meteorologist Basil Dean said yesterday: “(There will be) some clouds associated with it, but we don’t anticipate any major problems other than some rain that could affect the south-east Bahamas and portion of the central Bahamas. It seems as though the wave should be well to the west of us by late Thursday, going into Friday.”

By Saturday, the Bahamas can expect clear weather if the forecast holds, Mr Dean said.

The odds are greatly against Dorian from becoming a hurricane, and it may never regain tropical storm status.

Occasionally, the downpours associated with the struggling system can organise into something a bit more robust, said Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist at AccuWeather.com.

The unpredictable flare-ups of showers and thunderstorms could produce torrential rainfall and gusty winds. Several inches of rain could fall in as many hours and winds could be strong enough to down trees, power lines and cause minor property damage.