Tropical Storm Alex headed toward the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, but while it was not expected to hit the oil spill area, experts warned strong waves and winds could hamper clean-up efforts there.
With oil continually gushing into the fragile waters for the past 68 days, President Barack Obama’s pointman on the disaster cautioned that volatile weather conditions could set back oil recovery operations for up to two weeks.
Meanwhile, Alex moved over Belize, dumping heavy rains over the Yucatan peninsula before moving back into the Gulf after the weekend, meaning BP can continue its process without disruption, for now.
“The storm is not an issue for the spill,” said National Hurricane Centre spokesman Dennis Feltgen on Saturday.
Mr Feltgen said forecasters did not expect Alex to head into the northeast Gulf, where the spill is located, “but that doesn’t mean there won’t be some wave impact.”
The storm, which packed sustained winds of 95 km an hour, entered Belize on late Saturday just 30 km northwest of Belize City, dumping heavy rain on the affected area.
It was expected to weaken as it moved over Yucatan, but regain some punch as it moves over the Gulf of Mexico by Monday.
“We are very pleased that there is no weather impact right now,” BP spokesman Ron Rybarczyk told AFP on Saturday. —AFP