Barbados was visited today as part of the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) 2024 Caribbean Hurricane Awareness Tour with the US Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters, utilising the WC-130J aircraft.
Minister of Home Affairs and Information, Wilfred Abrahams, said it was timely to have a visit by an organisation that assists the Barbados Meteorological Services (BMS) in providing accurate forecast information to the public, as Barbados prepares for the Atlantic Hurricane Season, which is anticipated to be “extremely” active.
Adding that the visit was also informative and instructive, he said: “We recognise the work the team of the National Hurricane Centre continues to do as they prepare themselves to be deployed directly into the core of any significant and threatening tropical storm or hurricane … in order to collect critical data for forecasting their intensity….
“[It] allows them to forecast weather predictions, which in turn allows the Barbados Meteorological Services to improve our forecasting models and better understand what the weather was doing, or could do, and therefore plan adequately for it.”
Director of the NHC, Dr. Michael Brennan, explained that the organisation had partnered with the NOAA Aircraft Operations Centre to visit four countries – Barbados, Bahamas, St. Lucia, and Puerto Rico, as part of an outreach and preparedness mission ahead of the upcoming hurricane season.
“This is the time to prepare; know your risk and know what the risk is of the various hurricane hazards where you live. Storm surge, heavy rainfall, flooding, and wind. Rainfall flooding is one of the most dangerous hazards in the Caribbean, in particular in areas of topography, mountainous areas, and that has very little to do with how strong a storm is. It doesn’t take a Category Three, Four, or Five hurricane to produce heavy rainfall and catastrophic flooding on these islands,” Dr. Brennan stated.
He noted that the NHC was “very proud and very glad” to partner with the BMS to bring the awareness tour to Barbados.
Also touring the aircraft were the acting Director of the Barbados Meteorological Services (BMS), Sabu Best; BMS’ Deputy Director, Brian Murray; Deputy Director of the Department of Emergency, Captain Robert Harewood; and the US Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Roger Nyhus.
Students and campers from across Barbados, including those from the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology students, UWI MET Society, Eagles Academy Preparatory School, and Codrington School and Arms Open Wide Camp, were able to tour the Hurricane Hunter Aircraft.