By Belize Live News Staff: The Atlantic season has its second named storm, and Belize barely needs to look up from its sunbathing. Tropical Storm Bertha formed in the Gulf of Mexico overnight, spinning about 100 miles south-southwest of Panama City, Florida, while the Jewel wakes to another day of sunshine and warmth.
The National Meteorological Service placed Bertha at 28.8N 86.2W at 6:00 a.m., drifting northwest at just 5 mph with sustained winds of 50 mph. Every element of that position tells the same reassuring story for Belizeans: the storm sits in the far northern Gulf, its track points at the US coastline, and it is moving away from us, not toward us. The Met Service adds that elsewhere in the region, no tropical cyclone formation is expected over the next 48 hours. Bertha is Florida’s watch, not ours.
Belize’s own forecast reads like a postcard. Mostly sunny skies today, clear to partly cloudy tonight, and only isolated showers on the map, though southern Toledo could collect a few more after dark.
The heat stays honest. Inland areas will bake at 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34 Celsius) before cooling to 73 (23 Celsius). The coast tops out at 89 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius) with a warm low of 82 (28 Celsius), while the hills reach 82 degrees Fahrenheit (28 Celsius) and dip to a crisp 66 (19 Celsius).
Boaters will find a bit more bounce out there, with easterly winds of 10 to 20 knots, choppy seas, and waves of 3 to 5 feet, worth minding on the smaller vessels.
And the pattern holds into midweek, with Wednesday and Wednesday night continuing mainly fair and warm with only isolated showers.
As for the tides, today’s lows fall at 10:18 AM and 9:27 PM, with highs at 3:55 PM and 3:40 AM tomorrow. The sun rose at 5:28 AM and sets this evening at 6:29 PM. This forecast was prepared by forecaster Derrick Rudon.
