Tropical Storm Brett is approaching Martinique: heavy rains and strong winds are expected

Tropical Storm Brett will affect Martinique between late Thursday afternoon and the following night (Thursday through Friday). The island has remained on a hurricane red alert since noon on Thursday, June 22, 2023.

Météo France, estimated location on 2023-06-22 at 15 UTC: 13.8 N 57.7 W, the distance from Martinique to the center of the hurricane phenomenon is 367 km. The storm is moving at 22 km/h – Pressure at the center: 999 hPa Maximum winds over 1 minute: 60 knots (110 km/h) Gusts: 75 knots (140 km/h).

Tropical Storm Bret continues to move west. Its center shall pass between South Martinique and Saint Lucia, between the end of the afternoon and the first part of the following night.

In this configuration, La Martinique is located in the strong winds area. As a result, the state of the sea continues to deteriorate.

At the height of the event:

– Caves can average 4 to 5 meters on the Atlantic coast. Severe storm surges and spot flooding can be observed, particularly between Vauclin and Salines.

– Between Malha and Cap Salomon, waves can reach 1 to 1 meter on the coast.

Unusual waves can be observed. Waves may locally reach 6 meters in the Dominica Channel, and reach around 7 meters in the Saint Lucia Channel. Wind strength increases significantly towards the end of the afternoon.

At the height of the event, winds blow on average between 60 and 70 km/h in the northern half of our island, and between 70 and 90 km/h on average in the southern half. Gusts can reach speeds of 100 to 120 km/h and locally to 150 km/h in the most exposed areas.

The first heavy rains are expected during the afternoon. During the event period, total rainfall can reach 120 to 150 mm, locally 200 mm. It seems that this phenomenon passes relatively quickly and is expected to gradually improve as of tomorrow morning, Friday.