Saint Lucia experienced an uptick in rainfall this week due to a lingering trough system, according to meteorologists.
“Moist and unstable conditions associated with a lingering trough system will continue to cause cloudiness, showers and isolated thunderstorms over portions of the Lesser Antilles, during the next 24 hours,” the official forecast issued on Friday says.
These conditions are expected to persist into next week with current weather patterns suggesting continued unsettled conditions that may continue to trigger showers. The forecast over the next five days varies between cloudy, overcast, partly cloudy, and mostly cloudy skies, with scattered showers and a chance of isolated thunderstorms.
In an interview with St Lucia Times, meteorologist Vigil Saltibus cautioned that while the situation could shift, residents should remain alert for possible flooding and landslides.
Despite the recent downpours, Saltibus indicated that this year’s wet/rainy season, which typically runs from June to November, may be slightly drier than normal, though the potential for storms could alter this outlook.
“It could be slightly drier than normal, but this is subject to change based on a number of variabilities like storms that are expected to pass,” she said. “We’re not too sure what path they’ll take as yet, how frequently the tropical waves will pass and whether the tropical waves will produce sufficient moisture to generate rainfall over our region during that time.”
Over the past two years, Saint Lucia has recorded unprecedented heat levels. However, Saltibus noted that the upward trend in temperatures could ease slightly this year.
“Before we had El Niño. El Niño usually generates higher, drier and hotter temperatures during its stay,” Saltibus explained.
Based on the most recent climate updates from agencies like NOAA and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), El Niño which began in mid-2023 has dissipated, allowing the Pacific Ocean to transition into a neutral phase, meaning neither El Niño nor La Niña is present.
“So temperatures are not expected to be at record levels as compared to when it was El Niño over the past two years. However, we’re still going to be hotter than our climatological normal,” Salitbus explained.
She says temperatures began rising in April, and the months of August, September, and October, often referred to as the ‘heat season’, are expected to bring warm conditions.
However, global meteorological organisations anticipate La Niña conditions to possibly develop later in 2025, around the second half of the year (August to October), which could impact weather patterns triggering rainfall and storm activity, and temperatures across the Caribbean, including Saint Lucia.
