Motorists attempt to push this minibus out of a trench on Deanery Road, St. Andrew, yesterday, as rains affected several parishes.
-Ian Allen photoGREY SKIES, scattered showers and thunderstorms across most of the island marked the start of the new school year yesterday.
The rain, caused by a broad surface trough, had students, other children and adults reaching for raincoats and backing out umbrellas.
According to the National Meteorological Service, Jamai-cans will have to keep the umbrellas and raincoats handy as showers are expected to continue today.
Although rain fell for most of the day, officials at the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (OD-PEM) said they received no reports of damage or flooding as a result of the inclement weather.
"For me, it's good news," said Ronald Jackson, the ODPEM's acting deputy director.
HURRICANE WATCH
The Met Service and the ODPEM also indicated that they are closely monitoring Hurricane Ivan, which is threatening Barbados and other Windward Islands.
"Although Hurricane Ivan is not a threat to Jamaica at this time, it is being closely monitored as projections are for this system to pass over Barbados (today) and to be in the vicinity of Haiti and Jamaica on Friday," a Met Service release indicated.
"If this continues, we are going to have to brace ourselves for strong winds and rain on Friday which could possibly be hurricane or tropical storm conditions," said duty forecaster, Glenroy Brown. He said some forecasters are predicting that Ivan could become a category five hurricane, the strongest for the season.
