Paloma Weakens, Bahamas Next
Extremely dangerous Hurricane Paloma struck the eastern south shore of Cuba on Saturday evening. It made landfall as a
Category 4 storm near Santa Cruz del Sur. This was after rattling the Cayman Islands with torrential rain and
destructive winds. Roofs were torn off buildings on Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac. Power was knocked out across much of
Grand Cayman as trees were downed and flooding occurred in low-lying areas.
Paloma has quickly weakened while crossing the mountainous terrain of Cuba. At 8:00 a.m. EST, Paloma was already
downgraded to a tropical storm with winds of 70 mph. It will weaken further as it moves to the northeast and departs
Cuba today. More flooding will be possible with a couple of additional inches of rain falling in eastern Cuba.
The system will weaken further over the cooler surface water north of Cuba. Strengthening wind shear will also have a
hand in the weakening of the system. By Monday morning, Paloma will be a tropical storm half way in between Cuba and the
central Bahamas. By midweek, 6 to 12 inches of rain will fall in the central Bahamas and flooding will result.
ENDS