This afternoon, Cayo residents got an unexpected break from the scorching heat when a sudden rainstorm rolled in. But for those in Camalote, the surprise didn’t stop there, hail began falling from the sky, catching many completely off guard. Social media quickly lit up with videos and photos of the rare weather event. While some people were amazed by the unusual sight, others worried about damage to their vehicles parked outside. Authorities are reminding the public that during hailstorms, it’s safest to stay indoors and away from windows. Drivers should pull over to a safe spot and remain in their vehicles until the storm passes.
The 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season officially kicks off this Sunday, June first, and runs through November thirtieth. Forecasters expect a normal to above-normal season, with thirteen to nineteen named storms, six to ten hurricanes, and three to five major hurricanes likely to form. While there’s a medium chance of neutral El Niño conditions, which typically support average storm activity, warmer ocean temperatures could fuel stronger storms. What does this mean for Belize? It’s impossible to predict exactly where or when a storm will hit, but officials stress that everyone should be ready. Whether we face one storm or none, preparation is key.
The time for hurricane preparation is now. While the official start to Belize’s hurricane season might still be a few days away, the National Emergency Management Organization is advising the public not to wait until a hurricane is brewing to make the necessary arrangements. Earlier this month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued its official outlook for the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, forecasting above-average activity. The NOAA predicts anywhere between thirteen and nineteen named storms, with six to ten of them becoming hurricanes. We spoke with National Emergency Coordinator, Daniel Mendez, for more details on this year’s hurricane season.
Daniel Mendez
Daniel Mendez, National Emergency Coordinator, NEMO
“At this point we are, we continue to monitor those along with the Met service. Once that becomes something of concern to the country, they will be alerting us and telling us what we need to or what we need to know regarding that system. But the vigilance at the national system never stops. We’re not only monitoring potential systems, we also monitor things like forest fires and anything else that, that, that is important. NEMO is not a hurricane only organization. We function 24/7 throughout the year. Our officers are on duty all the time, and so we monitor anything that is that may threaten public safety. The time to prepare for tropicals for hurricane season is now. This is the time where you need to start to create your own emergency plans for your own family. You need to know what you’re gonna do if we have a system developing, where are you going to go? What are you going to take? Who will you stay with? How will you get there? So these are things that you need to find out right now. You can go to our website, nemo.org.bz. We have provided far more information particularly and in finding templates for family plans. We have a template for business plans. You are also able to find shelters across the country. We have a function there where you can search for shelters that will help you in determining and really finding out what you want to do. We also have information packages there, so you can also track hurricanes and tropical storms from our website and also on the Met Service website.”
NEMO advises the public to remain vigilant this hurricane season and avoid spreading misinformation.
With just days to go before Belize’s hurricane season officially begins, the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) is making sure the public stays informed and prepared. This morning, NEMO joined forces with the National Meteorological Service and the National Hydrological Service to host a special media training session. The goal? To equip journalists with the tools and knowledge they need to report accurately on storms, floods, and other natural disasters. NEMO Coordinator Daniel Mendez emphasized the growing importance of these sessions, especially as climate change continues to affect Belize. “The more prepared our media is, the better we can keep the public safe,” he said.
Daniel Mendez, National Emergency Coordinator, NEMO
“We at NEMO recognize that the media is a very important partner in sharing information during, before, during, and after any disaster event. So the purpose of inviting the media here was for you to listen from the experts, from the National Met Service, the National Hydrological Service, and NEMO. To hear and to respond to any questions that you may have regarding any of these kinds of events. We shared with you all of the correct scientific information. We also shared an information package that you can utilize as we begin this season. And this is just to ensure that we are all sharing the correct information. And so really the purpose was that information sharing with us, with the media. So we are. we do the best job possible in sharing information when we, if we do have to face a hurricane this year.”
Britney Gordon
“What are some of the challenges that NEMO has faced in the past when trying to disseminate information out to the media and the public that prompted a session like this?”
Daniel Mendez
“Of course, there’s always the issue of this misinformation and people listening to different sources and getting different information from many different areas. So what we wanted to do was to remind the media that any questions for any of these should be sent to us. We at NEMO rely on the National Met Service as our primary source of information for any meteorological issues. We rely on the National Hydrological Service for any issues that relate to flooding, and anything that is needed at that point..”
With the 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season fast approaching, experts are warning that this year could be busier than usual. In response, the Ministry of Disaster Risk Management and the National Meteorological Service of Belize have launched new initiatives aimed at boosting the country’s preparedness. The focus? Better access to weather and climate data, a crucial step in strengthening early warning systems that can save lives and reduce damage when disaster strikes. The launch event took place at the MET office in Ladyville, where we heard from NEMO Minister Henry Charles Usher about what Belizeans can expect this season, and how the government is working to keep communities safe.
Henry Charles Usher
Henry Charles Usher, NEMO Minister
“As a matter of fact, Cabinet was just briefed by the director of NEMO, the National Emergency Coordinator and the Chief Met Officer and what is expected is an above normal season. I think the normal season call for fourteen named storm, they are expecting sixteen or seventeen named storms. I think the normal season calls for four major storms, I think they are expecting five our six major storms this season. So it will be an above normal season but what is important, some weeks ago NEMO actually launched an early warning system and that is critical. You need to get that information early enough to have proper planning. In terms of all the different committees NEMO oversees, those committees are headed by different government departments. We are getting all the reports so that we can have our plan in place.”
Speaking at a recent event, Minister Henry Charles Usher stressed that public confidence in agencies like NEMO, especially during emergencies, is absolutely vital. He highlighted that NEMO has been operational for twenty-five years, and over that time, the departments and organizations under its umbrella have significantly strengthened their ability to respond when disaster strikes.
Henry Charles Usher, NEMO Minister
“Recently we also launched the national disaster risk management plan. This is also something that the NEMO Act, the legislation calls for to be updated every year, we are happy to have to comprehensive plan in place now. As you rightly said, the father of the nation is the first minister responsible for NEMO. NEMO is now in its twenty-fifth year, celebrating twenty-five years and it is important that the public knows, have confidence in NEMO, in the work it is doing, confidence in all the different departments and organizations responsible for disaster mitigation.”
As the calendar inches closer to June, forecasters are raising red flags about what could be a turbulent 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, is predicting a sixty percent chance of an above-normal season, with up to nineteen named storms expected to form. Of those, as many as ten could strengthen into hurricanes, and up to five may reach major hurricane status, packing winds of one hundred and eleven miles per hour or more. NOAA says it has seventy percent confidence in these projections, citing warmer ocean temperatures and favorable atmospheric conditions as key drivers behind the forecast. Meanwhile, in Grenada, regional climate experts are taking action. The Caribbean Climate Outlook Forum is underway, bringing together scientists, meteorologists, and disaster response teams from across the region. Their mission: to improve how we communicate and prepare for climate-related risks, especially as the region braces for what could be a very active season. News Five’s Benita Keme Palacio is on the ground in Grenada and brings us the latest insights and strategies emerging from the forum.
As you just heard, forecasters are already sounding the alarm; it’s shaping up to be a busy hurricane season, with nineteen named storms on the radar. Experts at Colorado State University are predicting nine hurricanes, including four major ones. Now, there’s no way to know if any of those storms will head our way, but the City Emergency Management Organization isn’t taking any chances. They’re already out inspecting hurricane shelters across Belize City to make sure they’re ready, just in case.
Bernard Wagner, Mayor, Belize City
“WE have done a lot of training. They have been able to do what you call shelter inspection. They have worked very closely with NEMO. I can say outrightly that this is the best relationship we have had with NEMO as a group, because the structure, the organizational structure of NEMO has really been put in place by the new leadership. We feel that with the coordinated efforts of NEMO and CEMO in the city we want to be prepared.”
Reporter
“Where are we in terms of completion with these shelters and putting out the official list for shelters this year?”
Bernard Wagner
“Again that is coordinated with NEMO and NEMO identifies the shelters. We just go along with them in terms of knowing in what capacity they are you in, are they available, do they need repairs. If they need repairs we assist with that, but in terms of identifying and selecting shelters that is up to NEMO.”
As experts from across the region gather in Grenada for the Caribbean Climate Outlook Forum and a special media training on climate communication, the setting couldn’t be more symbolic. Grenada is still picking up the pieces after Hurricane Beryl tore through the island in July 2024, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Now, with the 2025 hurricane season fast approaching, the big question is: is Grenada ready? News Five’s Benita Keme Palacio sat down with Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell to talk about the country’s recovery efforts and how it’s preparing for what could be another active season.
Dickon Mitchell
Dickon Mitchell, Prime Minister, Grenada
“We have I would say, done a better job, we had a pretty devastating hurricane in 2004. We learned a lot of lessons since then, and so I think we were far better prepared to handle Hurricane Beryl, thankfully. It was mostly the northern part of Grenada and Carriacou and Petite Martinique. But, having said that, I think there are a number of things that we have become better at; financial resilience is one of those. We’ve been able to, over the years, pay for parametric insurance, which allows us to mitigate a lot of the financial losses that we have suffered as a result of Hurricane Beryl. We also purchased insurance for our farmers, so we’ve been able to help them, including some of our fishermen. In that regard, we’ve done well. We also have built into our debt instruments hurricane suspension clauses, which allow us to suspend debt payments to our creditors in the event they need the cash flow to finance the recovery and the rebuilding in the aftermath of natural disasters. In that sense, we have institutionalized financial resilience to address the loss, damage, and consequences of climatic events. Behavior-wise, I think there’s a lot of work to be done, and from an energy perspective, we are still not where we need to be in terms of having more renewable and non-carbon-type energy into the mix.”
The scars of Hurricane Beryl still linger within the country, but PM Mitchell says the country is better positioned to face what’s ahead. The Caribbean Climate Outlook Forum (CariCOF) officially opens tomorrow, and as we mention we have a team in Grenada and we’ll have more on the forum on Thursday’s newscast.
2025 started off with a bang—or rather, a splash! For Belizeans in the northeastern parts of the country, New Year’s Day was all about rain instead of fireworks, with rainfall totals reaching between five and seven inches. Chief Meteorologist Ronald Gordon explained that these showers are due to a lingering front over the region. When we asked Gordon about the upcoming weekend weather, he told us to expect more rain and cooler temperatures.
Voice of: Ronald Gordon
Voice of: Ronald Gordon, Chief Meteorologist
“We have a front which has been lingering just north of the country. this front is very weak and diffused. And at the moment, extending across the Bahamas, Cuba, into the northwestern Caribbean Sea, up to northern Belize at the moment. Previously it was located over just the north of Yucatan and ahead of the front we have had a lot of prefrontal activity as we refer to it, and that is rainfall. This front is drifting very slowly to the south and will basically dissipate over the country over the weekend. However, it’ll continue, continue to produce some rainfall, which you will share now based on the forecast. So, I’m advancing the forecast frame up to this point, which shows the line of rain associated with the front, extending to Belize. And as we move into the weekend, farther, you will see that most of the activity will drift more to the south of the country. And that will persist throughout Saturday into Sunday, with most of the rainfall being recorded over the southern districts of Toledo and Stann Creek. However, we do expect that we still could expect some light rains over the other parts of the country, but not significant accumulations with this particular front as it dissipates. By Sunday, we should see better conditions as the front disappears even farther. And then what you’re seeing here coming across the United States is another significant cold front. Extending into the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. As I advance the frame up to Monday, you can see the front. Now, this new front extends across the central Gulf of Mexico into the Bay of Campeche and later Monday night into Tuesday, you begin to see these greens again over Belize, And this is associated with prefrontal activity from this next front, which is approaching around the middle. Or the early to the middle part of next week.”
