Tropical Storm Sam has upgraded to Hurricane Sam and should rapidly intensify to become a major hurricane on Saturday. This feature is expected to pass north east of SVG. The Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Meteorological Services will continue to monitor this system and provide the necessary updates.
Meanwhile, an approaching area of moisture should generate occasionally cloudy skies and trigger some scattered showers tonight into Saturday. There is a low chance that isolated thunderstorms could accompany these showers. On Sunday and Monday a few passing showers could occasionally interrupt warm conditions.
Light to moderate (10-20km/h) east to east south-easterly trades will cross the island chain during the next few days. On Monday winds could temporarily shift to east north easterly. Sea conditions will continue to be smooth to slight on the western coasts with swells ranging between 0.4m-1.0m, and slight to moderate on the western coasts with swells ranging between 1.0m-1.5m. Our swell heights should begin to increase by Monday to generally moderate(1.5m - 2.0m) as a result of waves generated by Hurricane Sam's wind speeds. Small craft operators and sea-bathers should exercise caution. In addition, there will be no significant haze intrusion within this forecast period.