Source: NOAA
News often trickles out of the Bahamas at a snail's pace, so we're waiting to hear about any impacts Hurricane Melissa might have had. At this point, however, we're optimistic. The hurricane went from a monster Catetory 5 when it hit poor Jamaica to a relative Category 1 pussy cat by the time it hit the Southern Bahamas.
While we wait for news about damage, we can share what we know. The center of the storm appeared to pass near Buckley's Settlement on Long Island. A personal weather station there recorded 8.22 inches of rain and a wind gust of 51 miles per hour.
Meanwhile, up on Eleuthera, which is considered to have the highest concentration of wintering Kirtland's Warblers and is about 130 miles north of Buckley's Settlement, a different personal weather station received less than two tenths of an inch of rain and reported a peak wind gust of 33 mph. A 30 mile an hour wind with a light rain? You could call that a typical October day in the jack pine!
Our good friend Dr. Ancilleno Davis, who is an assistant professor of Environmental Science at the University of The Bahamas, sent us the following today:
"In the immediate path, some birds could have been injured or blown out to sea if still traveling. In the short term future, plants will lose leaves and many fruit and flowers will be damaged or destroyed. You may see some of your proudest birds picking at the dirt for food.
"Long term the food resources may shift and the territories of wintering birds and residents may come into greater conflict over fewer resources. But the trees may have more young leaves that insects enjoy creating more food in a few months for the birds that stay."
As Dr. Davis makes clear, the hurricane may be over, but the impacts will be lasting.
We'll be back soon with a prediction for winter in The Bahamas -- and potential impacts on Kirtland's Warblers -- now that it's officially a La Niña year. Stay tuned.
