Met office warns about strong winds, rain and rough seas arising from weather systems

The Meteorological Service is advising that strong to very strong winds will continue to affect Jamaica and its territorial waters through the weekend, with the most severe conditions expected on Friday and Saturday.

According to the Met Service, a low-level jet stream across the Caribbean Sea has been generating windy conditions across Jamaica since early this week and is forecast to persist through Saturday.

The agency said the system is expected to move closer to the island later this week, bringing very strong and possibly gale-force winds, particularly across southern parishes and southern marine areas, including the Pedro and Morant Banks.

Fishers and other marine interests, especially those operating inshore and offshore along the south coast, are being urged to exercise extreme caution, as sea conditions are expected to deteriorate further due to the strong to very strong winds.

The Met Service said it will continue to monitor the system.

In addition to the low-level jet stream, a tropical wave located east of Jamaica is expected to move across the island today, while another tropical wave is forecast to affect the island on Friday.

Residents can expect very windy conditions, with occasional near-gale-force wind gusts across most parishes through the weekend, particularly in southern parishes and hilly areas.

The forecast for Friday calls for isolated morning showers across eastern parishes, with partly cloudy conditions elsewhere.

Widely scattered afternoon showers and thunderstorms are expected across western parishes and some hilly areas, while very windy conditions will persist across most of the island.

For Saturday and Sunday, the Met Service is forecasting partly cloudy mornings across eastern parishes and mainly sunny conditions elsewhere.

Isolated afternoon showers are expected across western parishes, with the remainder of the island experiencing mainly sunny skies.

Very windy conditions are expected to continue across most parishes throughout both days.

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