The West Indies are under threat from Hurricane Sam. This meteorological monster could reach this area next Wednesday and Thursday, according to the American Hurricane Center (NHC).
Sam is experiencing a "rapid escalation," in the words of the NHC.
This means that it is quickly getting bigger and more powerful, and therefore potentially more and more devastating.
Thursday midday, Sam was still a tropical depression.
In the afternoon, Paris time, it turned into a tropical storm.
This Friday morning, it reached the power of a hurricane.
Sam is expected to reach level 3 out of 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, which measures the power of hurricanes, on Saturday, which would make it a so-called "major" phenomenon.
The latest forecasts relayed by The Weather channel show a strengthening to level 4 while, in recent hours, forecasters did not anticipate it to become more powerful than level 3. This is testament to how Sam is. rapidly gaining power.
The most crucial question is whether Sam will touch inhabited land or remain at sea. There is uncertainty about this, as this map provided by the NHC shows.
The solid background shows Sam's almost certain path through Monday.
But it is extremely difficult to be very precise on the exact path taken by a hurricane.
The dotted trajectory corresponds to the “zone of uncertainty”, that is to say that it is the most probable course at present, but that this one is likely to undergo variations.
Météo France assesses the trajectory
Since the onset of the tropical depression that resulted in the formation of Sam, the anticipated course has been moving further and further to the west.
It is therefore getting closer and closer to the Antilles and the French Antilles in particular.
Guadeloupe would be more exposed than Martinique if Sam were to further bend his way to the West, or even to the South.
Even if the most likely is that the French West Indies are only brushed against by Sam, Météo France is broadcasting a highly nuanced bulletin this Friday morning. “The center of Sam is located 2,300 km east-south-east of the Lesser Antilles. This phenomenon should pass north of the West Indian arc between Wednesday and Thursday at a distance yet to be specified. At this time, a more southerly trajectory than that reported so far is not excluded. Consequently, it is too early to provide details on the possible impacts on our territories. It is therefore advisable to keep oneself regularly informed of the evolution of forecasts. "
In a hurricane period it is important to know the emergency
numbers ✅Le 15 for the SAMU
✅le 17 for Police-emergency
✅le 18 for the firefighters
✅le 196 for any distress at sea
✅le 114 (SMS) for deaf & hard of hearing people
ℹ️https: //t.co/tJn77YQtdS pic.twitter.com/06EWjTGtGC
- Prefect of Guadeloupe (@ Prefet971) September 23, 2021
On Twitter Thursday, the prefecture of Guadeloupe, for its part, recalled the emergency numbers.
She insists that they are "important" to know in this "hurricane period".