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Winter is upon us… temperatures of around 60 degrees in some areas

National Weather Service meteorologist, Carol Baqui (middle) with Taylor Pechacek (left) and Ivan R. Gumbs Jr., (right) in this photo on Wednesday.
fili@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The National Weather Service in Tafuna has urged residents to heed all advisories and warnings being issued especially when it comes to coastal waters, with expected surf heights up to 12 feet and higher at times, while high winds are expected of up to 25 mph on land.

And with American Samoa now in the its winter season — including all countries and territories south of the Equator — local weather has seen hot days but all of a sudden heavy rains for a short period of time, while in the wee hours residents seek extra blankets due to cold morning temperatures.

“We are now in our winter season, so we’re expecting a good amount of rainfall over the next couple of days as there is a ‘stationary front’ [weather condition] southwest of Pago Pago” on Wednesday morning and moving across the territory Wednesday night into this weekend, said meteorologist Carol Baqui with the Weather Office.

Baqui, accompanied by off island college students who are recipients of the Federal Pathways Program at the local Weather Office for internship, reached out this week to local news outlets to share the latest weather development in order to inform the public, as weather conditions continue to change.

While the Tropical Cyclone season for this side of the world ended in April, local residents continue to question whether there is a pending new storm, due to the odd weather situation, with heavy rains and strong winds at certain times of the day or night.

“Expect many changes in the weather as we are in our winter season for this side of the hemisphere, in which it’s a bit colder in the early morning hours — like on Tuesday and Wednesday morning which was 73 degrees as recorded by the Weather office,” Baqui told Samoa News on Wednesday.

“But perhaps it’s a lot lower elsewhere — you can minus a good 8 or 10 degrees for higher elevation (areas), which maybe have mid-to-upper 60s degrees for some locations. And we’ve been hearing that in the last few day,” she said. “But we’re hoping so see more of the temperature dropping as the ‘stationary front’ moves over the territory in the next few days.

Baqui explained what’s common for local weather during the winter season and urged residents to heed advisories issued by the Weather Office.

“What’s common during this season are the trade-winds, with strong winds picking up and we’re anticipating at least a good 25 mph to 30 mph mainly over land but maybe a lot higher over the coastal waters,” she explained, noting that the Weather Office’s coastal water forecast covers 40 nautical miles out from the coast line and this is a ‘wide spectrum’ and the coastal forecast is very important when it comes to mariners and anyone conducting activities on water.

“Also keep an eye out for those traveling on the alias between the channels, as our waters can be choppy at times. So please keep that in mind, when planning for the week, to heed all advisories and warnings in the next coming days,” she said.

Just before 7a.m. yesterday, the Weather Office issued a “high surf warning” with surf of 10 to 13 feet impacting south facing shores of all island and the warning is effective through 3pm next week Monday. A “flash flood watch” remains in effect until 7a.m. tomorrow morning, due to moderate to heavy rainfall associated with a stationary front.

The local Department of Homeland Security issued a special bulletin yesterday morning about the high surf warning for residents residing in coastal areas prone to large breaking waves to make preparations and take precautionary measures for safety and to protect life and property. (Read warning on samoanews.com)

With the high surf warning comes the concerns of strong rip-currents.

(A rip current is a relatively strong, narrow channel of fast-moving water flowing outward from the beach through the surf zone and presenting a hazard to swimmers.)

Baqui said this is an all year-round concern, “but because most of our homes face to the south shores and a lot of our community actually swim, along south shore bays, we’d like to encourage the community to look out for our young  as well as adults to always keep an eye out on rip current spots and to try to avoid those areas.”

“So look out for the expected weather condition, in terms of seas may be picking up to 9 to 12 feet in the coming days and may likely also reach 15 feet or higher. Also expect breezy and gusty conditions, so keep that in mind and be prepared at all times,” Baqui said.

Of note, Samoa News points to our elderly population needing particularly extra care — easy access to blankets, shawls, and enclosed footwear, like socks — at any given time, day and night.

INTERNSHIP AT WEATHER OFFICE THU FEDERAL PATHWAYS PROGRAM OPP

Baqui talks about the Federal Pathways Program, which offers federal government internships and employment opportunities for current students, recent graduates and those with advanced degree.

Baqui said the interns “have projects that are due, that will be presented to our office and will definitely help us.”

She said during a joint Samoa News/KSBS-FM interview that, “we’ve tried for many years to recruit local students to be interested in Weather Service programs including meteorology because there’s a lot of job opportunities as well as internships and scholarships for them.”

She said Pechacek and Gumbs “are the best two” selected by local Meteorologist-in-Charge Elinor Lutu-McMoore, as this year’s recipients and interns at the local weather office.

According to Baqui, the interns “have skills that... are needed, in terms of computer skills” at the local weather office.

And “this is a great opportunity, to also inform our local students to look at meteorology” as a career with the National Weather Service, which is a bureau of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), she said.

“And if you have questions let us know. We’re always happy to help guide you, that way you can jump on board and also be a part of the meteorology program,” Baqui said, adding that our local students are the future for staff at the Weather Office in Tafuna.

The two interns have their career path towards meteorology and both are enjoying their time here working with the local Weather Office. “Once we kind of get our foot in the door, the goal is to keep our foot in the door,” Gumbs said of himself and Pechacek.

“We’ve experienced a lot at the Weather office so far. We’ve been exploring the island as well as part of our job.  And we went to the [NOAA] Observatory in Tula,” said Gumbs, adding that “I’m kind of no stranger to the islands because I have family in the [US] Virgin Islands.”

Twenty-one year old Gumbs, who was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, is a senior at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida and is close to finishing a bachelor's degree in Meteorology.

After that, he plans to pursue a Master’s Degree in Business Management. “My goal is to become a Meteorologist-in-Charge and eventually a director of a NOAA office,” Gumbs.

Pechacek, who grew up in Wisconsin, is attending Mississippi State University.

Meanwhile, the Weather Office on June 12, hosted at its Tafuna compound the Federal Pathways open-house for all high school seniors on island and a large group of seniors and other members of the public showed up. This was an opportunity for high school students to speak to federal employees who work on island, about how they got their job and how they can get employment with their agency.

Students were informed about federal internships as well as federal employment opportunities for them including working at federal agencies on island. The Weather Office partnered with other on-island federal agencies for the open house, such as the Federal Aviation Administration, USDA Farm Service Agency, the US National Park, the US Army Reserve and the US Coast Guard.