November 15, 2024 8 a.m.

Here is the 6 a.m. position of the storm, shown as 40 miles east of Guanaja, but in the discussion the National Hurricane Center admits they are having a hard time finding a center. Interaction with land has left this storm ragged. That is good news for us.

Last night we had some gusty winds and heavy rain, but this morning we see light at the end of the tunnel. Look at the structure of the storm on satellite. It definitely doesn’t look like the classic hurricane with strong rotation and an eye in the middle. You can see less strength in the northeast section of the storm, which is the section we are about to enter.

You can see on radar that most of the rain is to our west. I don’t 100 percent trust the Belize City radar because it is so far away, but any rain over us and to our east is probably lighter. It is always possible a storm can reform and cause us a downpour, but chances are good that we will see lighter rain totals today than yesterday and maybe even a peak of sun here or there.

Buoys are showing east/northeast winds this morning around 30 mph. Seas are showing around 8 feet outside the reef. Winds and seas should stay right around 20-30 mph today and seas 7-8 feet. Tomorrow the winds will turn to the east/southeast and the southside will finally get the gusty winds, but right now they still look to be in that 15-25 mph range on the storm’s weaker, eastern side.

Looking ahead, conditions will really start improving on Sunday with some occasional showers as the storm moves into Belize with southeast winds 5-10 mph and seas 2-3 feet. Monday and Tuesday look partly cloudy with perhaps some gusty east winds Monday night. Wednesday winds turn to the west in advance of a norther (cold front) and Thursday evening into Friday morning we will be dealing with a norther with gusty north winds, cool temperatures and rain.

I want to say I’m pleasantly surprised by how well the RECO system has held up and restored power through this storm. Thanks to all the workers getting out in the wind and rain to restore power and I think we are seeing the benefits of installing sturdier power poles over the last couple of years.