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CCNTV6
  • 6 weeks ago
With the disaster that occurred in the Westmoorings area on Tuesday, we checked in with the Met office to find out more.

Here is Rochelle Edwards.
Transcript
00:00A terrifying scene unfolded in Westmore City as a rare and violent tornado touched down just
00:13after 1 p.m. leaving a trail of destruction in its path. Roofs were torn off, trees uprooted,
00:20as stunned residents ran for cover. Cleanup efforts are already underway after what many
00:26are calling one of the most unexpected weather events Trinidad has seen in recent years. Thankfully,
00:33no serious injuries have been reported but the damage is extensive. To understand what caused
00:38today's tornado, we spoke with meteorologist Gary Benjamin from the Trinidad and Tobago
00:42Meteorological Service who indicated that it was not just one factor but many that play a part.
00:49We had a low level trough passing and we also had intense morning heating, there were light
00:59winds and there was some moisture advection and build-up within the low level trough. So all
01:06those ingredients coming together would have been the genesis for the development or the rapid
01:13development of thunderstorm activity or isolated thunderstorms. And whenever we have those
01:20thunderstorms developing, a lot of the times, a lot of them occur of the water spout, that
01:26is, occur over the ocean and we hear nothing of it because there is mainly no one really affected.
01:34But today, one formed very close to shore and I don't have all the details but probably because
01:43of the drift of the clouds inwards like sea breeze type clouds, it would have brought the water spout
01:53overland and therefore when it reaches overland it is considered a tornado. Tornadoes when reaches a body
02:00of water turns into water spouts. While they aren't uncommon to us, two were recently recorded in
02:06Manzanilla and now this, all within just a few weeks. The big question, why are we seeing these
02:12water spouts more frequently? Water spouts are in fact common in the waters over Trinidad and Tobago.
02:19We just don't report them, most of us don't see them, most of us don't feel the effects of them but they are in fact relatively
02:27common over the waters of Trinidad and Tobago. They are similar to tornadoes but most times over the
02:35water it is weak. With an event like this so rare to Trinidad and Tobago, what are the do's and don'ts
02:42in times like these? Well, Gary advises that as soon as you hear thunderstorm in the forecast,
02:48get out of the affected area. Any time there's a forecast that gives the probability of a thunderstorm
02:55occurring, no matter how small the probability, you must take heed of that and prepare yourself in case
03:04the thunderstorm occurs because a thunderstorm could produce powerful effects and even an individual
03:11thunderstorm which doesn't also have to be with any tropical wave or trough. It could develop on
03:19its own. So whenever the forecaster says there's likely to be a thunderstorm maybe in western areas,
03:25central Trinidad, early areas or what have you, the person must take cognizance but take heed of the
03:33forecast and therefore have the mindset that these things could happen. Flash floodings, street floodings,
03:42strong down drops, lightning discharges and also the spawning of tornadoes or big tornadoes relative to
03:52others or water spouts. So whenever you hear that you must be able to be prepared for it. If it happens
03:59while you're outside you must seek shelter immediately. And with extreme swings in our weather with dry
04:07spells, high heat and no tornadoes in the wet season, Gary puts the confusion to rest. One misconception there
04:15is is that the rainy season is not hot but the fact is that we have two peaks, one just at the end of the dry
04:24season and one coming near to the end of the rainy season. Two heat peaks. So our heat season begins
04:31somewhere at the end of the dry season and goes on till the early end of the wet season. So during those
04:38times, whether it is just the end of the dry season or within the rainy season like now, we could expect to
04:44have high temperatures and those high temperatures, especially at this time of the year, October, September,
04:51October is when it would facilitate the development of thunderstorm activity because even in clear skies, once we
05:01have a little bit of moisture around, even in clear skies, we would have that buoyancy of the atmosphere because warm air
05:09would rise and according to the temperature would rise rapidly and also a little bit of moisture
05:16in the air. Moisture is more buoyant than dry air. So you can see those ingredients coming together
05:22with the dryness occurring in the first instance and then a sudden development of thunderstorm activity.
05:29And this is a natural phenomena within the rainy season around this time.
05:35Rochelle Edwards, TV6 News.
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