It’s not going to get better in the Bahamas.
Another storm is threatening the hurricane-ravaged archipelago, and will bring up to 8 inches of new rainfall in areas where rescue efforts remain underway in the wake of destruction wrought by Hurricane Dorian, according to forecasters.
“It’s definitely going to hinder recovery efforts over the next few days there,” said Dan Kottlowski, a senior meteorologist and lead hurricane expert for AccuWeather. “There’s no doubt, mentally, that this is not a very good thing for the people of the Bahamas.”
“Regardless of (the weather system’s) development, it’s still going to bring them gusty winds and rainfall.”
The culprit is 95L, an area of “disturbed weather” off the southeast end of the island chain.
The forecast comes as an international rescue operation remains underway in portions of the Bahamas, primarily the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama Island.
Officials report 50 confirmed dead, but the death toll is widely expected to rise radically — particularly as some 2,500 people from the islands have been registered as missing.
“It’s definitely going to work on the mental psyche of the Bahamas,” Kottlowski added.
The devastation began when Dorian hit the commonwealth Sept. 1 as a Category 5 hurricane, with storm surges over 20 feet, and sustained winds of 185 mph with staggering gusts over 220 mph.
Thousands of military personnel, police officers and volunteers continue to comb through the debris.
Those efforts could suffer another setback from 95L, with the National Hurricane Center saying there is a 70 percent chance it will develop into a tropical cyclone or tropical storm over the next 48 hours.
Kottlowski said that, at minimum, the system will bring 4 to 8 inches of rain over the same portions of the Bahamas that were hit by Dorian, with some gusting winds.
The worst-case scenario is it develops into a more serious weather system and brings 40- to 70-mph winds to the Bahamas — or it could move farther west and fizzle out near Florida or in the Gulf of Mexico.
