At the request of Meteo-France and the meteorological services of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the National Hurricane Center/Tropical Analysis and Forecast Branch (TAFB) will begin providing, on a temporary basis, a separate detailed section within the Atlantic Tropical Weather Discussion (TWD). It will cover both Haiti and Dominican Republic due to the shared geography of both countries on the island of Hispaniola.

1) The return of below-average rainfall during the last week has re-strengthened moisture deficits following a mid-season dry spell that occurred in early November. With a shortened recovery period in the next several weeks, this could result in a deterioration of pastoral and agro-pastoral conditions, and possible crop yield reductions by the end of season throughout parts of Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya and eastern Tanzania.

Hurricane Sandy, with winds of 90 mph and heavy rains, is creating dangerous flooding conditions all along the Northeast U.S. from NC to New England. This NOAA GOES-13 satellite image taken on October 29, 2012 shows the storm as it is centered off of Maryland and Virginia. The storm is heading in a northwestern direction towards the Delaware and southern New Jersey coast.

1) With seasonal rains ending and as vegetation dries out, locust swarms have formed in Chad and are expected to form shortly in Niger and Mali. Swarms are then expected to migrate towards the north as well as potentially into cropping areas in western/central Mali.

1) Both anomalous seasonal rainfall and northward position of the Inter-Tropical front has favored breeding conditions for desert locusts over the southern Mauritania-western Mali border, central Niger-eastern Mali, Chad, and east-central Sudan. The continuation of above-average rainfall during September could lead to locust outbreak across many regions.

1) Heavy rains have resulted in fatalities and massive destruction in South Darfur, the northern Bahr el Ghazal, Warrap, and Jonglei states of South Sudan. Flooding potential remains as above-average rains are forecast during the next week.

2) Since July, heavy rains causing flooding and inundation along the Niger and Benue Rivers have led to the displacement of thousands of people and many fatalities in eastern Nigeria. Enhanced rainfall forecast could exacerbate the ground conditions.

1) Heavy rains have resulted in fatalities and massive destruction in South Darfur and the northern Bahr el Ghazal, Warrap, and Jonglei states of South Sudan during the past week. Flooding potential remains as heavy rains are forecast during the next week.

2) Heavy downpours killed four people in Dakar and central Senegal during the past week. Heavy rains persisted, potentially exacerbating Cholera outbreak across Sierra Leone and Guinea. Concerns for flooding and Cholera spreading remain as heavy rains are again forecasted.

• Wet conditions prevail across West Africa and eastern Africa.
• Hatching eggs and low-density locusts increase the potential for locust outbreak over many regions.

1) Heavy rains during the past week have caused flooding, destroying more than two thousand homes in El Fasher, Sudan. Flooding potential remains as locally heavy rains are forecast to continue during the next week.

1) Above-average rains observed in western Sudan and eastern Chad during the past thirty days have caused localized flash floods. With additional heavy rain forecast for the next week, localized flash flooding could occur.