ST. THOMAS — Heavy downpours affected St. Thomas late Wednesday afternoon, caused by a tropical wave making its way through the Atlantic. According to an advisory the National Hurricane Center issued over the weekend, the system was supposed to move near the USVI and Puerto Rico late Sunday night and spread rain and thunderstorms across the area through at least Monday and Tuesday.
It lasted a bit longer.
N.H.C. had said rain amounts would be sufficient to cause flooding in some areas of higher terrain and also areas where thunderstorms persist, and the forecast was accurate. Multiple areas in St. Thomas flooded as the rain — and wind — came.
At the airport and Seaplane, flights were canceled; one Seaborne Airlines flight coming from Puerto Rico to St. Thomas had to turn back because of the dangerous weather.
Videos captured by residents showed flooding in a number of locations, with pictures captured showing how the flood water browned parts of the ocean.
The Caribbean is approach the peak of the hurricane season, determined to be between August 15 and late September. Hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30.
System may affect USVI, PR as tropical depression or storm sometime next week
According to N.H.C., a broad low pressure system located about 900 miles west-southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands is producing a large area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms. N.H.C. says gradual development is possible during the next couple of days while the system moves west-northwestward at about 15 mph across the central tropical Atlantic Ocean.
Conditions are forecast to become more conducive for development over the weekend, and a tropical depression is likely to form by early next week several hundred miles east of the Lesser Antilles.
The system, which N.H.C. has given a 70 percent chance of development, is projected to pass near or through the USVI and Puerto Rico, creating potential hazardous conditions.
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