CBC News Barbados

SCARBOROUGH, Tobago, CMC – Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley Friday announced that he would be resigning from office before the end of the current term of his ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) by August this year. The first-term incumbent PNM, led by Rowley, won 22 of the 41 seats in the 2020 general  election to form a second five-year term majority government by defeating the opposition United National Congress (UNC) that was led by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad Bissessar. Following the victory in the general elections,  Rowley, the country’s seventh head of government,  signaled immediately that the party is in a transition as he no longer expects to contest another poll in Trinidad and Tobago. “I am not one of those politicians who believe when you come into office, you should go out feet first. I have places to go and people to see, but more importantly I have a commitment to ensure that this is a period of transition in the PNM and as the longest serving member in the Parliament …I have a duty and a responsibility during this term to fashion the PNM’s future by ensuring that our young people are developed in such a way that when I am no longer in this position to announce an election date that the country will not be deprived of the leadership it deserves. “This is my period to ensure that the young people I have been mentoring that they move into greater responsibility during that period. So Trinidad and Tobago this is a period of transition but I will not shirk my responsibility to the people of Trinidad and Tobago who have elected me for this five year period,’” Rowley said then from the party’s headquarters to a limited number of people that included his wife, Sharon. The small crowd at the party’s headquarters was in keeping with the measures put in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and Rowley, whose speech was broadcast on radio and television here, said “tonight against all odds, in a most difficult situation, the PNM has once again been called to service in the government of Trinidad and Tobago. Rowley, 75, who is in Tobago for the Christmas Season and will also participate in the screening of candidates for the two seats here currently held by the PNM, told reporters Friday that he had always indicated his intention to step down from politics after 45 years in public life. “I am here with my colleagues this weekend and one of the things that they will be told is that I will not be offering myself again to represent anyone either in Trinidad or in Tobago. Forty- five years is a long time.” Rowley, a volcanologist by training, who obtained his doctorate in geology specialising in geochemistry, entered politics in 1981, where he unsuccessfully contested the Tobago West seat in the general election of that year. To date he has the distinction of being the only PNM candidate to have contested a seat in a general election in both Tobago and Trinidad. He reminded reporters that his first job on the public payroll was to plant grass on the Hope Estate in Tobago at seven dollars (One TT dollar=US$0.16 cents) a day, then becoming a teacher before entering the political arena in 1980. “This year would be 45 years that I have been in public life in Trinidad and Tobago. I offered myself for serve in Tobago in 1981 and in Trinidad in 1987, to now. And at the last election, 2020, when I announced the PNM victory in Baliser House, I said to this country, I will not be doing that again. And I meant it. And I’ve kept it. “Forty-five years is a long time and I would like at this time to say thank you, appropriately along the way to all those who have supported my effort and to have benefited from, I hope I would have positively impacted this country somewhere, sometime. “As we settle Tobago’s screening tomorrow, I continue to be the political leader of the PNM. We will call for nominations where I represent the people of Diego Martin West who have supported me resolutely from 1991 to now and I will thank them appropriately and ensure that they are not left adrift but I would not be offering myself as I have just said. “And I would say something else before the end of the legal limits of this term I will resign this office and go off to my family. Thank you all very much and see you all again sometime soon,”  Rowley said as he ended the news conference without taking any questions on his shock announcement. Rowley, who served as Prime Minister for two consecutive terms since winning the general election in 2015, serving in varius portfolios in government since his entry into politics, commented on the state of politics in the twin island republic. He said he and his colleagues have been under “relentless attack from some people, many f them never plant an ochro seed in this country…never plant a tree, but they relentlessly attacking people who work in public life and who contribute to national development. “And they do it with hate and vitriol. Unfortunately, that’s  what it is. But for me,  it wasn’t always so. I could see a deterioration of the quality of the society fueled by the availability of the mechanism to spread your bile, the absence of certain kinds of civilities, and of course, more me than us”. Rowley, who served in the Senate in 1987, said that he had brought into the political arena a number of young people, “who had served at that time one term, many of them are still in government  about to complete their second term, experienced (and) some of them with nine or 10 years of service in the government. “So the government and people of Trinidad and Tobago have a cadre of people, mainly young people  who came into public service without with all its whats and have prepared themselves to take this country forward”. Rowley said he had the experience of managing the country during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and was happy to receive today a report from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) indicating that reports of another outbreak similar to COVD were untrue. “The international agency has just confirmed to us that there is no need to worry and that the story about a state of emergency in  China is not correct. I was particularly pleased to hear that because God knows we do not want to go  through another COVID,”  he added.

By Mary Gilbert, CNN Meteorologist (CNN) — A major winter storm will deliver heavy snow, hazardous ice, rain and severe thunderstorms to more than 1,300 miles of the United States over the weekend and into next week. Snow and ice so far this winter in the eastern two-thirds of the country have been limited to northern states. But this storm will break that mold and bring treacherous conditions to millions from the Plains to the East Coast, including in areas less prone to winter weather. And where it’s too warm for snow and ice, the storm could conjure up severe thunderstorms, including in some of the same areas still recovering from December’s deadly storms. Major impacts, including “considerable disruptions to daily life … dangerous or impossible driving conditions and widespread closures,” are expected from this storm through Sunday in parts of the Central US, according to the Winter Storm Severity Index. It all starts on Saturday afternoon when the storm develops in the Plains, fueled by a deep surge of moist air moving north out of the Gulf of Mexico. It will start to spread snow, rain and an icy mix over the Plains late in the day as it strengthens and expands. From there it will track east and spread a wintry mess into the Mississippi Valley and parts of the Midwest by Sunday morning. The storm will expand into the Ohio Valley and Southeast Sunday and to the East Coast Sunday night and Monday. The regions at greatest risk are clear, but exactly who gets snow, ice or mainly rain — and how much — is still incredibly difficult to determine. Small shifts in the storm’s track could change the outcomes entirely. Some areas could start as snow but change over to an icy mix as warmer air enters the area, while other spots start as rain or an icy mix and gradually change over to snow. This storm will be capable of unleashing more than a foot of snow and enough ice to knock out power just as the coldest temperatures of the season arrive in its wake. Snow will bury some areas The storm will lay down several inches of snow from late Saturday through Monday in a stripe that stretches from parts of Kansas and Nebraska to the East Coast. The highest snow totals will rack up in the coldest areas, likely in parts of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and West Virginia. Totals will be lower in areas where warmer air generates sleet and ice instead of snow. St. Louis has only seen four days where more than a foot of snow fell in a day — a feat that could happen Sunday. Snow totals could range from an inch to more than a foot in parts of Missouri, depending on the storm’s exact track. This could also be the case for the other states with the greatest chances of snow. Unlike duringother storms this winter, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Upstate New York could receive little-to-no snow because of the storm’s more southerly track. Some lake-effect snow is possible in Michigan and New York as the wind direction shifts both before and after the storm. Treacherous ice to come The greatest risk of dangerous ice will set up just south of the snowiest areas. Significant icing is possible from Kansas and Missouri through the central Appalachians and potentially parts of Maryland and Delaware. Travel could be “nearly impossible” in the areas of heaviest icing, multiple National Weather Service offices warned. Ice amounts of 0.25 inches or more are possible, especially in parts of southern Missouri, southern Illinois, southern Indiana and almost all of Kentucky. Any amount of ice is dangerous; just a thin layer – a light glaze to just over 0.10 inches – can turn paved surfaces into skating rinks, causing people to slip and vehicles to slide out of control. The thicker the ice, the worse its impact. Heavy ice – 0.25 inches or more – weighs down trees and power lines and can snap branches or pull down electrical wires. Large amounts of ice could also completely immobilize travel by making roads impassable. An ice storm that slammed the Central US in January of last year knocked out power to thousands and sent first responders spinning out of control as they tried to reach people in distress. Power outages could be widespread and long-lasting if significant icing occurs and power restoration crews can’t navigate treacherous roads. That situation could be dangerous or potentially deadly for those without access to heat in the extreme cold to come. Damaging thunderstorms and soaking rain The southern, warmer side of the storm will spread rain and some embedded thunderstorms over much of the South. Some of these thunderstorms could become severe, especially on Sunday afternoon. A level 2 of 5 threat of severe thunderstorms is in place Sunday for parts of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi, according to the Storm Prediction Center. Damaging wind gusts and hail are the most likely threats from any severe thunderstorm but tornadoes are also possible. A tornado outbreak, including multiple rated EF3s, rocked parts of the South in late December. Rain and storms could also cause flooding, especially where the heaviest rain falls in the Southeast. The massive storm will finally exit the East Coast late Monday and fully diminish in impact overnight. But Tuesday presents a new problem: Arctic cold. Temperatures will plunge as much as 30 degrees below normal for the eastern two-thirds of the US and the frigid air will last for some into at least the middle of January, locking in whatever snow and ice fall from the storm. The-CNN-Wire & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

Here is today’s weather forecast according to the Barbados Meteorological Services. Weather Forecasts Today From 6:00 a.m. Synopsis: Low-level instability is affecting the island. General Forecast: Mix of sunshine and clouds with a few brief scattered light showers. Tonight From 6:00 p.m. Synopsis: Low-level instability will be affecting the island. General Forecast: Mix of clear skies and clouds with a few brief scattered light to moderate showers. Wind Forecasts Today From 6:00 a.m. Moderate easterly breeze from 30 to 35 km/h (19 to 22 mph). Tonight From 6:00 p.m. Moderate easterly breeze from 30 to 35 km/h (19 to 22 mph). Marine Forecasts Today From 6:00 a.m. Moderate in open water with swells ranging from 1.5 to 2.5 meters ( 5 to 8 ft ) and increasing. Small craft operators and sea bathers should exercise caution. Beachgoers are advised to use beaches with on-duty lifeguards. Tonight From 6:00 p.m. Moderate in open water with swells ranging from 1.5 to 2.5 meters ( 5 to 8 ft ) and increasing. Small craft operators and sea bathers should exercise caution. Beachgoers are advised to use beaches with on-duty lifeguards. Tides, Sunrise & Sunset High Tide (First) 7:13 a.m. High tide (Second) 7:03 p.m. Low Tide (First) 12:37 a.m. Low tide (Second) 12:49 p.m. Sunrise 6:24 a.m. Sunset 5:45 p.m.