Did you know…

the Garifuna Settlement Day holiday was created by Thomas Vincent Ramos in 1941?

Thomas Vincent Ramos lived from September 17, 1887 to November 14, 1955 where he passed away in his Stann Creek home at the age of 68. Ramos was born in Puerto Cortes, Honduras but later moved and spent most of his life living in Belize. He worked as a school teacher and was known for being a Civil Rights Activist with primary concern being the lack of health and financial facilities to aid the Garinagu living in Dangriga. He formed the Carib Development Society as a way to help the sick and render financial aid to bury their dead. Ramos also fought against the discrimination of the Garifuna people. His most well-known effort was when he lobbied the Governor to establish a Public and Bank Holiday to commemorate the arrival of the Garifuna in Belize. His request was granted and Garifuna Settlement Day, which was first known as Carib Disembarkation Day, was first celebrated on November 19, 1941 only in Stann Creek District, then later in Punta Gorda and Toledo in 1943 then country-wide in 1977.

Happy Garifuna Settlement Day!

LOCATION…13.8N 74.3W

ABOUT 335 MI…540 KM SSE OF KINGSTON JAMAICA

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS…40 MPH…65 KM/H

PRESENT MOVEMENT…WSW OR 255 DEGREES AT 3 MPH…6 KM/H

MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE…1006 MB…29.71 INCHES

WATCHES AND WARNINGS

There are no coastal watches or warning in effect.

Interests in Nicaragua and Honduras should monitor the progress of this system.  A hurricane Watch may be required for a portion of that area tonight or early Saturday.

DISCUSSION AND OUTLOOK

At 400 PM EST (2100 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Iota was located near latitude 13.8 North, longitude 74.3 West. Iota is moving toward the west-southwest near 3 mph (6km/h), and this motion is expected to continue through early Saturday.  A westward to west-northwestward motion at a slightly faster forward speed is expected to begin by late Saturday and continue through Monday. On the forecast track, Iota will move across the central Caribbean Sea during the next day or so, and approach the coasts of Nicaragua and northeastern Honduras late Sunday and Monday.

Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 40 mph (65 km/h) with higher gusts. Steady to rapid strengthening is likely over the weekend, and the system is forecast to be a major hurricane when it approaches Central America.

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 105 miles (165 km) from the center. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1006 mb (29.71 inches).

HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND

Rainfall:   Through Wednesday morning, Iota is expected to produce 4 to 8 inches of rain, with local 12 inch totals, across portions of northern Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica. Across Jamaica and southern Haiti, 2 to 4 inches are expected, with local amounts up to 6 inches. Across remaining sections of Central America, the system has the potential to produce 20 to 30 inches of rain with a focus across northern Nicaragua and Honduras. This rainfall would lead to significant, life-threatening flash flooding and river flooding, along with landslides in areas of higher terrain.

SURF:  Swells generated by Iota will begin affecting portions of the coast of Colombia, and the southern coasts of Hispaniola and Jamaica during the next day or so.  These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.  Please consult products from your local weather office.

As Eta moves on from Central America and heads toward the U.S. Golf Coast, the people of Belize are still reeling from the flood waters that continue to rise in various parts of the country.

Though it’s been four days since Eta cleared the country, many Belizeans are forced to seek shelter in higher areas as the flood waters spread throughout the low-lying areas. This is the case today in the ever-growing area of Belama in Belize City as the flood waters now begin to rise in the canals flowing through the residential community.

Here’s a bird’s-eye view of the flooding in the Belama Phase 3 & 4 community after Eta passes in Belize City.

Hurricane Eta has intensified into a Category 4 storm and is expected to bring devastating winds and storm surge to the coast of Nicaragua, as well as potentially catastrophic, life-threatening flooding rainfall that will last for days in much of Central America.

Eta is the 28th storm of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, which ties the 2005 season for the most storms on record. It’s also the 12th hurricane of the season, which ties for the second-most on record for a year in the Atlantic.

Eta is also only the fifth Atlantic Category 4 or higher hurricane to occur in November. Paloma in 2008 was the last November Category 4 hurricane in the Atlantic.

Forecast

Eta is centered off the coast of Nicaragua in the western Caribbean and is tracking in a west-southwesterly direction.

Maximum sustained winds in Eta increased from 50 mph to 120 mph in the 24 hours ending 1 p.m. EST Monday. That’s double the criteria for the rapid intensification of a tropical cyclone, which is a wind speed increase of 35 mph or more in 24 hours or less.

Additional strengthening is expected as the center of Eta approaches the coast of Nicaragua through late Monday night and early Tuesday. Eta is expected to be an extremely dangerous Category 4 when it nears landfall in northern Nicaragua by Tuesday.

Hurricane conditions are likely in the hurricane warning area of northern Nicaragua Monday night into early Tuesday. Devastating wind damage will occur near where Eta’s eyewall tracks inland.

There will be a destructive storm surge near and just north of where Eta crosses the coast. Parts of northern Nicaragua could see an inundation of 12 to 18 feet above normal tide levels.

Some of the worst wind and storm surge impacts could affect the city of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua.

Eta’s most widespread threat will be heavy rainfall that will last for days well inland across Central America, since Eta is slow moving.

Catastrophic, life-threatening flash flooding and river flooding could occur in some parts of Central America, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). Landslides are possible in areas with mountainous terrain.

Here are where the heaviest rainfall totals are predicted by NHC in Central America:

-15 to 25 inches, with locally up to 30 inches in much of Nicaragua and Honduras

-10 to 20 inches, with locally up to 25 inches in eastern Guatemala and Belize

-10 to 15 inches, with locally up to 25 inches in Panama and Costa Rica

-5 to 10 inches, with locally up to 15 inches in southern areas of southeast Mexico

Parts of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands could also see heavy rainfall and flooding from Eta.

Northwest Caribbean Reformation Threat Late Week?

Eta will track slowly across Central America through late this week, however, its long-term forecast beyond that time is highly uncertain.

One possible forecast scenario is that Eta will simply dissipate as it spreads heavy rainfall over Central America.

However, there is increasing computer model forecast guidance that shows Eta’s spin and energy lingering over Central America for a time and then moving back over the northwestern Caribbean. That could lead to a reorganizing Eta or a new system forming over the northwest Caribbean late in the week ahead or next weekend.

Check back to weather.com for updates over the next several days on this possibility and what it might mean for any other land areas in the long-term future. That could include Cuba, the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas and South Florida.

November in the Tropics

Tropical development isn’t all that unusual in the western Caribbean in early November.

In fact, several storms have formed in this area over the last 70 years.

Notably, hurricanes Paloma (2008) and Michelle (2001) have formed near Central America and then moved northeastward toward Cuba. Paloma intensified to a Category 4 near Cuba before weakening to a Category 2 at landfall in the country, causing heavy damage in both Cuba and the Cayman Islands. Michelle was one of the most significant hurricanes in Cuban history at the time, causing billions in damage as a Category 4 hurricane.

We should expect one named storm every other November, and one November hurricane roughly every three years. Of course, some years are more active than this while others are quieter.

Historically, most systems that form in the western Caribbean are scooped up by the dipping jet stream over the United States and pushed northeastward over Cuba and the Bahamas and out to sea.

Other tropical systems form in the open Atlantic and around Bermuda or the western Atlantic. These systems are typically spawned by drooping cold fronts in that region or other orphaned low-pressure systems that break off from the jet stream.

By the end of the month, this jet stream makes it increasingly inhospitable for tropical systems to form in the Gulf of Mexico and the western Atlantic. Water temperatures increasingly get too cold for tropical development elsewhere in the basin, leading to less frequent systems.

Shower activity continues to become better organized in association with a tropical wave located over the eastern Caribbean Sea. Conditions are conducive for further development of this system, and a tropical depression is likely to form this weekend or early next week as the system moves into the central and western Caribbean Sea.

Belize is advised to keep tracking the storm in the event it shifts direction and impacts the country when it makes landfall.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…high…70 percent.

* Formation chance through 5 days…high…80 percent.

Caribbean company Naledo overcame fierce competition to win the ‘New Food Product of the Year’ award at Food Matters Live 2020, a prestigious international food event in the UK.

Belizean-based Naledo manufactures the world’s first wildcrafted, whole root turmeric paste as well as fresh juices blended with turmeric.

The social enterprise, which was founded by Umeeda Switlo in 2016, works directly with small-scale growers based in Toledo, Belize.

The Food Matters Live judging panel commended all five finalists in the new products category for their “innovation”.

Nutritionist Freya Strutt, from Chartwells Nutritionist Team, explained why the judges gave Naledo the top prize. She said: “The shortlist was really strong with lots of really good products and it’s exciting to see where the market is going in terms of new food products.

“But one winner was clear in terms of taste, usability, and the whole enterprise around the product itself. I congratulate them on their business.”

After hearing the exciting news, Umeeda Switlo said: “Naledo would like to thank Caribbean Export and the European Union for making sure we could attend the virtual event.

“Thank you to team Belize and all our growers; Spice farm, Texbell, Silk Grass and our distributors Ecoideas in Canada, UNFI in America, and Circle R in Belize. Thanks also to Marie Sharpe for her support and the Government of Belize.

“We couldn’t have achieved this without our Belizean team and our wonderful customers around the world.”

Naledo’s turmeric paste comes in four sizes and two flavours and is currently sold in over 1,000 retailers in Canada, Belize, America and the Bahamas.

The paste is sustainably produced from the forest to the table without any agricultural inputs. This creates a product that is exceptional in terms of taste and with minimal impact on the environment.

Naledo pays its farmers 28 times more than the average turmeric grower and this enables them to invest in education, health care, improved nutrition, and building a better future for their families and communities.

Source: Caribbean Export Development Agency

Belize is making it easier to have an unforgettable getaway. The Prime Minister announced that effective October 19, 2020 travelers will no longer be required to adhere to the safe corridor and remain in their designated Gold Standard Hotel/Restaurant. The Prime Minister stated that these additional safety protocols were established to protect the wider economy, but with COVID-19 positive cases still on the rise, it is obvious that the threat resides in-country and not with incoming travelers.

So rather than mandating that visitors must remain within the safe corridor and utilize only gold standard restaurants, gift shops, tour sites and certified transportation, it is now only a recommendation. Click the links for the full list of Gold Standard approved Hotels and Gold Standard approved Tour Operators.

More changes were also ushered in with the amended statutory instrument to include airport car rentals now being made available to travelers and an increased number of patrons now allowed inside restaurants. The Prime Minister stated that as long as the square footage allows for social distancing protocols, more than ten (10) persons are now allowed to be inside a restaurant so long as no more than ten persons are seated at a single table.

Get a refresher of all existing requirements for International Visitors, and Belizeans and Permanent Residents at the links provided.