They urge people not to visit the beaches this weekend due to the danger that Hurricane Lee will cause

He Bureau for Emergency Management and Disaster Administration (NMEAD) and the National Weather Service (SNM) in San Juan this Thursday urged the population to avoid beaches exposed to the Atlantic Ocean this coming weekend, given the danger both at sea and on the coasts that the Hurricane Lee.

The passage north of the tropical cyclone, which at that time should be category 4 or 5 on the Saffir-Simpson wind scale, It will significantly deteriorate the waves and, in turn, the conditions along the entire northwest, north, northeast and east coast of the island..

The SNM’s preliminary forecast for the waves that could be recorded this weekend suggests that they will fluctuate between 10 and 15 feet in height, so the breaking waves on the coasts may be wider. In addition, the risk of marine currents will remain high until next week. The combination of all these factors means dangerous conditions, even for the most experienced swimmers.

In fact, The new day reported this morning, in its forecast of potential indirect impactsthat he Ocean Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (OPC/NOAA, in English) anticipated that hurricane-category maritime conditions are possible in local waters north of Puerto Rico, so the agency could issue surveillance or warning products for these purposes.

“Thank God, Hurricane Lee will not have a direct impact, but it will pass north of our region and this will greatly affect sea conditions. We could also see episodes of passing rain, so we have to pay attention to the SNM announcements,” said the NMEAD commissioner. Nino Correain a press release.

For his part, the SNM notice coordinator, Ernesto MoralesHe stressed that the conditions began early on Saturday and will continue in this way “until the rest of next week.”

“In the sea, especially in the north and east area, we will see waves of between 10 and 15 feet, so we don’t want anyone on the beaches“said the meteorologist.

Regarding the rains, Morales agreed with this newspaper’s forecast that, in the period with the most frequent downpours, accumulations would reach a maximum of two inches.. However, isolated areas would see larger accumulations with the heavier rain.

In general, the behavior of the weather in terms of precipitation will be at the mercy of the outer bands of Hurricane Lee that reach the island.

The SNM even predicts maximum accumulations of six inches of rain, but within a period that runs from 6:00 am this Thursday to 6:00 am next Tuesday. These accumulations would be concentrated in sectors of the interior-west of the island.

“There is a high uncertainty (in terms of rainfall) but, with the experience associated with systems like these, we could receive between one and two inches due to cloud cover associated with the outer bands of the atmospheric system. Sunday is when we will see the most cloudiness in our area,” Morales noted.

“The call to our people is to pay attention to the bulletins of the National Meteorological Service, to the government authorities and to be prepared”Correa stressed.

The secretary of the Department of Public Security (DSP), Alexis Torres, assured, on the other hand, that the government’s security component is ready and would be activated “when necessary” and in communication with the municipalities.

“It is important for citizens to prepare because we are entering the most active period of the hurricane season. “We must all have the family emergency plan ready,” said the official. “Teamwork in emergencies is essential for a rapid and effective response. Mayors and municipal staff are the first response to their people. For that reason, we are in constant communication with the mayors and working together.”