In its monitoring and forecast bulletin for the stranding of pelagic sargassum for the Northern Islands communicated on September 14, 2023, Météo France classifies the risk level as medium for the territories of Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy.
Satellite images from September 11 to 13 allow an analysis of the situation around the Northern Islands archipelago with an unusual flow linked to cyclone LEE. The dominant flow is therefore from the southeast around the islands due to the distant influence of the said cyclone. The numerous rafts present in the area in previous days are temporarily caught in this flow. They are the source of current arrivals, most of them for the Dutch part of the island and the south of Saint-Barthélemy. The unusual southerly flow is however temporary. As Cyclone LEE moves away, its influence should continue to diminish and the algae will then resume their progression towards the west. Gradually, the wave of small rafts surrounding the islands will resume its slow transit westward. It will then cause repetitive arrivals on the east coasts of the two territories, and sometimes in unusual areas given the weakness of the flow. The threat is therefore still relevant in this 2023 sargassum season. Despite the presence of a few rotational currents (gyres), the detections located to the east of the Lesser Antilles represent a risk of strandings for the French islands in function of the future direction of the drifts. To be continued. _VX
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