A tropical depression has formed south of Cuba that will affect the eastern provinces

On Thursday afternoon, a potential tropical storm formed in the Caribbean Sea, south of Jamaica, number 22, which may affect the eastern provinces of Cuba this weekend, which is already suffering from heavy rain.

According to a note from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), the tropical system is moving north-northwest and is centered at 365 west-southwest of Kingston, Jamaica.

Around 4:00 pm, the meteorological phenomenon has maximum sustained winds of 50 kilometers per hour and will become a tropical storm in the early hours of Friday.

The NHC called on Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, the southeastern Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos Islands to continue monitoring the progress of this system.

The approach of the event in eastern Cuba comes after heavy rain caused flooding on Wednesday in Havana and the overflow of a river in Holguín.

The Meteorological Institute of the Island reports a lot of rains, showers, and electrical storms, mainly in the western and central regions, becoming strong and severe in some locations.

According to a note from the state entity, the radar images of La Bajada show that the greatest storm activity in the west is concentrated in the province of Pinar del Río and towns on the northern coast of the rest of the west.

The network of meteorological stations in Cuba reported several accumulations between the hours of 1:00 and 7:00 PM on Wednesday, including 137 millimeters standing in Casablanca, Havana; 72 in Bainoa, Mayabeque; 68 in La Palma, Pinar del Río; 50 in Bahía Honda, Artemisa; 37 in Veguitas, Granma, and 34 in Esmeralda, Camagüey.

“These rains are associated with unstable conditions created by an extended trough over the western Caribbean Sea, associated with the circulation of a low-pressure area. The archipelago also favors the increase in relative humidity in the geographical area,” said the Institute.

The note warns that in the following hours it will continue to rain with thunderstorms through the evening in the west, remaining in the central and eastern regions in the early morning.

Subsequently, the low-pressure center located over the Gulf of Mexico and associated with a nearly stationary front will continue to advance eastward, increasing areas of cloud and rain in the eastern half of the territory, which can be strong for some places and localities.