On Saturday, 30 November, the 2024 Hurricane Season came to an ‘official’ end. This does not mean, however, that there might not appear a tropical storm in December. According to many meteorologists, the warm waters of the Caribbean could still produce some interesting weather.
But let’s look at the positive aspects: the Dominican Republic was not seriously damaged during a season that was very active with 18 named storms. Some other areas, such as Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, North Carolina and Tennessee experienced severe damage and major loss of life.
Hurricane Helene was especially deadly, with well over 150 victims in North Carolina and Tennessee.
However, here in the Dominican Republic, only Beryl, in early July 2024, brushed the South Coast, causing evacuations, highway closures, and the shut-down of the AES generation facility.
Experts at the University of Colorado and the National Hurricane Center in Miami had forecast a more active hurricane season due in part to the warm waters of the Atlantic and the dissipating El Niño in the Pacific.
The ebb and flow of the El Niño/La Niña in the waters of the eastern Pacific cause major shifts in the weather patterns for the Caribbean Basin. During periods of La Niña, there are usually more hurricanes.
These events also cause shifting patterns of drought in other areas. Panama, for instance, was experiencing a major lack of rain during the recent El Niño, and had to ration the flow of ships through the Panama Canal. But with the coming of La Niña, much of Central America has experienced flooding and dangerous landslides.
The 2024 season is over, and the Dominican Republic escaped with very little property damage, and little loss of life.
Read more in Spanish:
El Caribe
Listin Diario
2 December 2024