Tropical Storm Bonnie could become a hurricane

• Tropical Storm Bonnie could become a hurricane.
• A warning for several countries and the United States.
• It could impact Independence Day.

Bad news could hit the United States by July 4th or earlier, affecting Independence Day celebrations. Tropical storm Bonnie could become the second hurricane of the season, so experts are monitoring the situation after tropical disturbances in the Caribbean, the Windward Islands and the Gulf of Mexico, according to The Sun.

Experts indicate that the Gulf of Mexico storm could dump several inches of rain as it passes over Louisiana and Texas in the coming days, but it does not mean a hurricane risk. Given all this, experts are somewhat worried that tropical storm Bonnie, now located in the Caribbean Sea, could gain strength during the week and become a hurricane.

WHAT IS THE WARNING?

It was reported on Wednesday that the State Civil Protection Coordination of Oaxaca, Mexico, said they are targeting Bonnie because there is a risk of downpours in parts of the south and southeast of the country next week. A tropical storm warning has already been activated for the Caribbean countries of Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada, as well as coastal areas of Venezuela, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica and Bonaire.

«On the forecast track, the system will pass near the southern Caribbean Sea and the northern coast of Venezuela today, near Colombia’s Guajira Peninsula early Thursday, and over the southwestern Caribbean Sea on Friday,» the NHC said about the trajectory and the danger that this storm over the sea could represent.

WHAT DO THE AUTHORITIES SAY?

Eric Blake, a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center, told the Orlando Sentinel, “If you just took a casual look at conventional satellite data, you would think that the system is already a tropical storm.” He says the public should remain alert.

“There is a large circle near the center. The microwave data, however, do not show much low-level structure, with only a broad curvature and no obvious indications of a well-defined center,» he added. Filed Under: Tropical Storm Bonnie Hurricane

WHAT DID THE GOVERNMENT OF VENEZUELA SAY?

The Venezuelan government closed schools, opened shelters and restricted air and sea travel on Wednesday, in response to a tropical disturbance that was speeding across the southern Caribbean en route to Central America. President Nicolás Maduro said the South American country has already been suffering from recent downpours. “Careful, precautionary, prepared, nerves of steel!” Maduro said in a televised press conference.

Meanwhile, the government of the neighboring Caribbean island of Curaçao imposed a curfew starting Wednesday morning and ordered all businesses closed. Earlier in the day, the disturbance affected Trinidad and Tobago, where authorities reported blackouts and temporarily closed wastewater processing plants, although no severe damage was reported. Filed Under: Tropical Storm Bonnie Hurricane