of National Hurricane Center in Miami announces Hurricane Oscar Formed off the coast of the Bahamas.
Oscar, which the Hurricane Center characterized as “small,” was formed on Saturday. Oscar, the 15th named storm of the hurricane season, formed as a tropical storm just east of the Turks and Caicos Islands and quickly became a hurricane.
The Hurricane Center said in a 5 p.m. ET advisory that Oscar “has strengthened a bit” and Turks and Caicos Islands should prepare for hurricane conditions Saturday night. Maximum sustained wind speed was 85 mph.
The Bahamian government has issued a hurricane warning for the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas. The Cuban government has issued a hurricane warning for Guantanamo, Holguin, and Las Tunas provinces.
Heavy rain is expected in the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas late tonight into tomorrow, the Hurricane Center said. Rain is expected to spread into eastern Cuba on Sunday.
Hurricane Oscar formed off the coast of the Bahamas on Saturday. National Hurricane Center
The storm’s maximum sustained wind speed was recorded as reaching 80 mph with higher gusts. Its center was located approximately 265 miles east-southeast of the southeastern Bahamas and approximately 770 miles east of Camaguey, Cuba.
Tropical Storm Nadine formed hours earlier in the western Caribbean Sea and is moving west toward Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. It made landfall near Belize City, Belize, around 12:00 pm ET.
Heavy rain and tropical storm conditions occurred in parts of Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula.
Tropical storm warnings are in effect for Belize City and from Belize to Cancun, Mexico, including Cozumel.
Atlantic hurricane season officially begins on June 1st and ends on November 30th, with most activity occurring between mid-August and mid-October. Hurricane activity tends to peak in mid-September, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
In Florida, Hurricane Helen made landfall less than two weeks before Hurricane Milton, and communities along Mexico’s Gulf Coast are reeling from the effects of back-to-back hurricanes.
