Barbuda has witnessed a rare occurrence in its history
Barbuda witnessed an unprecedented event in its history when it experienced two named storms making landfall in the same month and year.
The first one, tropical storm Philippe, hit the island earlier in the month, followed by the first-ever hurricane, Tammy, just a few weeks later.
Climatologist Dale Destin pointed out that both storms made landfall within close proximity to each other, an event that has a likelihood of only 0.2 percent.
This extremely rare phenomenon has a return period of once every 500 years, making it five times rarer than lightning striking the same place twice, which has a return period of once every 100 years.
This historic moment has been recorded for posterity and has left experts intrigued.
It’s worth noting that this historic episode is not unique to Barbuda.
The last known time two named storms made landfall on the same Eastern Caribbean Island was in 1916 when St. Lucia had this unique double-visitor experience.
However, Destin said the simultaneous landfalls on Barbuda were a first in more ways than one – it marked the first time a hurricane and a tropical storm had made landfall on a single island in the Eastern Caribbean in the same month of the same year.
Additionally, there has never been a double landfall in October in the Eastern Caribbean.
Therefore, this rare occurrence has piqued the interest of experts and has become a subject of scientific inquiry.
This story was first published by Antigua News on October 31, 2023: antigua.news/2023/10/31/barbuda-has-witnessed-a-rare-occurrence-in-its-history. © 2023 Antigua News. Republication without permission is not allowed.
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