A Weekend to Button Up and Batten Down
Pull out that sweater, button up, batten down and prepare for cold nights and cool days this weekend. The Met Department reports that a cold front descended on Belize this morning and you can expect record low temperatures. How low will it go? Well we went to the Met Department and asked Senior Forecaster Derrick Rudon.
Derrick Rudon, Forecaster
"For tonight and tomorrow night we can expect cold temperatures. A cold front passed through earlier today and the high pressure ridge behind the cold front is bringing cold air across the Gulf of Mexico and the Yucatan Peninsula to Belize. So we can expect cold and dry weather for Saturday and Sunday."
Keith Swift,
How cold is it going to get?
Derrick Rudon,
"We think that the temperature will reach about sixty degrees Fahrenheit along the coast tonight, fifty-five inland, and about fifty up in the Mountain Pine Ridge Area."
Keith Swift,
On a regular night what are the regular temperatures, for example, on the coast?
Derrick Rudon,
"On the coast its normally in the 70s, maybe about 76 to 75 degrees."
Keith Swift,
So its going to be almost 20 degrees colder tonight?
Derrick Rudon,
"Well that's right."
Keith Swift,
How long can we expect the weather to stay this way?
Derrick Rudon,
"We can expect for the entire weekend for it to be cold at night and cool during the day and on Monday it will start warming up a bit with maybe some rain as the wind goes around to the east."
Keith Swift,
So cold, dry weather for the entire weekend?
Derrick Rudon,
"For the entire weekend, Saturday and Sunday."
Keith Swift,
Any small craft warnings out?
Derrick Rudon,
"We have a small craft warning fro tonight and tomorrow because we are expecting winds to be from the north to northwest at fifteen to twenty five knots. We are expecting strong and gusty winds over the open seas, so we have a small craft warning."
And even though we are 45 days out of the hurricane season, Rudon notes that Tropical Storm Zeta is still churning out in the Atlantic but it poses no threat to Belize. For those of you who've missed the nightly weather reports, those resume on Monday.