Updated October 20, 2024 at 11:30 p.m.
In the early hours of Sunday, Oscar made landfall at Inagua, south of the Bahamas. He repeated the experience a second time on the Cuban side, almost 13 hours later. Details.
Oscar, the one in a hurry
Saturday morning, a tropical system became the 15th named storm of the season in the Atlantic basin, very close to the Turks and Caicos Islands. In less than three hours, Oscar achieved Category 1 hurricane status, with sustained winds of 130 km/h. The hurricane, which took the world by surprise, made landfall on the island of Inagua, located in the south of the Bahamas, around 5 a.m. Sunday.
Twice rather than once
Oscar, however, has not said his last word: he made landfall a second time around 5:30 p.m. on Sunday. The eye of the hurricane landed very close to Baracoa, located in the far east of Cuba. As of this writing, Oscar’s winds are still blowing at 120 km/h. Note, however, that a hurricane loses intensity after making landfall and Oscar is no exception.
Lots of rain
Oscar will not go unnoticed: monster amounts of rain are expected until Wednesday. In total, eastern Cuba could receive between 100 and 250 mm of rain. Locally, these quantities could reach 350 mm. These accumulations could cause flooding. Note also that storm surges could submerge the coasts. Remember that Cuba is facing a huge power outage; Oscar couldn’t have come at a worse time.
Surprising fact: since it is going to turn around, its particularly slow movement could generate much more rain in its path than if it were moving at a regular speed.
During the night from Monday to Tuesday, the 10th hurricane of the season should escape and turn around towards the northeast. It would die in the Atlantic, after passing through the Bahamas in the form of a tropical storm.
Source : NOAA
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