Dr. José Rubiera, the specialist in hurricanes at the National Forecasting Center of the Institute of Meteorology (INSMET), reported this Tuesday that the center of Tropical Storm Idalia passed near Cabo San Antonio on the westernmost tip of Pinar del Rio province around 9:00 p.m. Monday published the Official Gazette, granny.
Satellite images and radars from Casa Blanca and La Bajada confirmed this The cyclonic organism shows strong activity in showers, rain, and thunderstorms over Cabo de San Antonio; However, the rainfall areas associated with Idalia cover the entire western half of Cuba.
Previously, after monitoring the cyclone organism, At 6:00 p.m., the National Civil Protection Staff ordered the cyclone alert phase for the provinces of Pinar del Ro, Artemisa, and the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud.
At midnight, its center was estimated at 22.1 degrees north latitude and 85.0 degrees west longitude, 22 kilometers north of Cabo de San Antonio in Pinar del Rio province.
In the last few hours, Idalia continued to move north at a speed of 13 kilometers per hour. According to INSMET notification no. 12, the maximum continuous wind speed is still 110 kilometers per hour, with stronger gusts.
Idalia will maintain its nearly northerly movement tonight. On Tuesday, it will turn its course to the north-northeast, increasing its translation speed, gaining in organization and intensity, and developing into a major hurricane before impacting the northern Florida Peninsula.
Heavy and intense rainfall has been reported in Pinar del Rio for the last three hours before midnight. The greatest accumulation of rainfall was reported in Cabo de San Antonio at 133.5 millimeters in two and a half hours.
INSMET warned of this over the next 24 hours The chance of rain remains high in the western and central regions, which can be strong and intense, especially in some towns in the provinces of Pinar del Ro and Artemisa.
Winds with gusts of up to 90 kilometers per hour were reported in Isabel Rubio, in the province of Pinar del Ro.
Coastal flooding is reported in the low-lying areas of the south coast of the western region, as well as Isla de la Juventud, La Bajada in Pinar del Ro Province, and Surgidero de Batabanó in Mayabeque.
In September last year, Cuba was severely hit by Hurricane Ian, which severely affected the western region, particularly the province of Pinar del Rio, and is still suffering the consequences.
The influence of Ian caused the deaths of five people and extensive damage to more than 100,000 homes, agriculture, electricity, telephone, and drinking water services.
More than 60,000 homes affected by Ian in Pinar del Ro still have no resolution, authorities quoted as saying. They said that “the situation of the victims of previous events given the rains and winds” in Idalia is the main concern.
