Two hurricanes, Lisa and Martin, have formed in the Atlantic Ocean simultaneously in an extremely rare episode, bringing with them a spate of unusual activity. At this time of year, hurricane season is nearly over but a third system is also developing in the Caribbean.
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Lisa made landfall on Wednesday, hitting the Belize coast as a category 1 tropical cyclone and could bring life threatening storm surges, reports Accuweather. Latest reports showed the hurricane maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h).
Hurricane warning
A hurricane warning was in effect on Wednesday in Mexico and Belize, with the Belize government declaring a state of emergency and enforcing a curfew. Residents in Belize city have reported losing their roofs as that much of the city is underwater, as per Accuweather.
Whilst there is concern for the damage done by Lisa, Hurricane Martin is currently a category 1 storm in the Atlantic. It is not expected to make landfall nearby but instead to head north along the Atlantic and could potentially hit western Europe.
The third, additional system, that is developing near the Bahamas, has a 20% chance of becoming a tropical storm or depression in the next five days, as per the Guardian.
Europe
The combination of the two weather systems is what makes this phenomenon so rare but also formidable, weather forecaster Magicseaweed reports:
The two systems merging together will form a really powerful extra-tropical system by late Friday, which will expand in area and arc around towards the east.
Impacts are first expected in Ireland and the UK this weekend and then eventually Portugal, Spain and France, as per Accuweather:
Strong winds in the highest levels of the atmosphere will cause Martin's energy to spread out, driving rain and wind to surge into the region in a few different rounds. Rough surf, erosion and tidal flooding are predicted to occur in coastal areas.
This comes after a wet and windy week with Storm Claudio battering parts of the UK and France. It seems conditions are unlikely to change anytime soon.
Sources used:
- Accuweather 'Lisa makes landfall in Belize as Category 1 hurricane'
- Accuweather 'Martin to aim at northwestern Europe as a large, powerful storm'
- The Guardian 'Two November hurricanes pose rare threat at end of 2022 Atlantic season'
- Magicseaweed 'Early warning: European hurricane strike for first major swell of the season?
