Flash-flood warning in effect for Jamaica

The Meteorological Service of Jamaica has issued a flash flood warning for low-lying and flood-prone areas in some of the island’s parishes, due to the inclement weather associated with tropical storm Ian, which has been upgraded to a hurricane.

The warning will remain in effect until 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday.

In a release on Monday morning, the Met Service extended the flash-flood warning for low-lying and flood-prone areas of the island including St. Mary, Portland, St. Thomas, Kingston, St. Andrew, St. Catherine, and Clarendon.

Also, the flash-flood watch was upgraded to a flash-flood warning for low-lying and flood-prone areas of Manchester, St. Elizabeth, and Westmoreland.

The Meteorological Service said Ian, now upgraded to Hurricane Ian, is expected to move northwest across the Caribbean today. However, the Met Service noted that its outer bands have been producing adverse weather conditions across Jamaica since Saturday.

The Met Service also stated that the forecast is for “periods of moderate to heavy rainfall and thunderstorms to continue across southern and north-eastern parishes Monday through to early Tuesday.”

The Meteorological Service also warned that landslides are likely due to the extended period of rainfall and high-ground saturation.

Hurricane Ian is expected to rapidly intensify and hit Cuba as a major hurricane late Monday, before becoming a Category 4 hurricane over warm Gulf of Mexico waters and striking the west central coast of Florida on Wednesday.