The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

RAINY weather conditions are expected to clear up by mid-week, according to local weather forecasters.

On Sunday, the Bahamas Meteorology Department posted on Facebook that moderate to heavy rain would affect the northwest and central Bahamas. The department noted yesterday that a severe thunderstorm warning was in effect for north and central Andros and Bimini as well as their adjacent waters. Arnold King, chief meteorological officer, told The Tribune that it was expected to change over the next few days.

“We expect some improvement tomorrow,” he said. “We expect lessening shower activity for tomorrow and then Wednesday conditions should be partly cloudy so I expect basically cloudy overcast conditions today. Widespread showers with some weather thunderstorms and then tomorrow it should be a bit better. Partly cloudy, some scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms.”

The blame for the recent gloomy conditions Mr King pointed out was an unstable air mass that moved from the Western Caribbean crossing Cuba and then to the Bahamas.

He explained the mass was generated by a combination of a tropical wave in the Caribbean and a deep layered trough - an elongated area of low pressure.

He said gradual improvement would be seen as it moves into the Gulf of Mexico, but noted that the country is in the rainy season so rainfall is expected.

He added: “The beginning of the year was pretty dry and now we’re getting into the rainy season. We are kinda making up for that dry period that we had at the beginning of the year but it’s not unusual to have a rainy condition like this during the year.”