A spell of bad weather in recent days has led to the closure of a primary school in Apia town as well as affected the Savai’i–Upolu daily ferry service.

The St. Mary’s Primary School issued a public notice on Wednesday to advise all parents and guardians of the school’s closure to ensure the safety of its students.

“Due to the bad [weather], there will be no school for today (24/02/21) for the safety of our students until further notices,” read the school’s notice.

Should there be any changes, parents and guardians will be notified in due course, the public notice further stated.

The bad weather has also affected the inter-island ferry service which did not run on a normal schedule on Wednesday.

Samoa Shipping Corporation advised members of the public on its Facebook page on Wednesday that their services have been affected, and they asked for the public’s patience as they tried to accommodate the needs of the travelling public.

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s Meteorology Division, the country continues to experience deteriorating weather conditions.

A tropical disturbance 10F (TD10F) that lies southwest of Savai’i has a very low potential to develop into a tropical cyclone in the next 24-48 hours.

Despite the low risk, the Meteorology Division stated in its severe weather update on Wednesday that they have issued warnings for heavy rain, marine, flood and wind as well as coastal flood and high surf advisories.

This is accompanied by gusty strong winds as well as gloomy conditions associated with an active convergence zone which remains over the Samoan islands. 

The severe weather update also added that the system is predicted to relocate south of the forecast zone by Thursday with similar impact over Samoa. 

High waves and swells of 3-3.5 metres will continue to impact all marine waters of Samoa.

There will also be strong winds over land and marine waters as well as elevated waves and swell activities to 4 metres from Wednesday into the evening.

The Meteorology Division has also advised that the advisories and warnings remain mandatory.

And potential impacts include: heavy downpours with poor visibility, gusty winds, foggy and slippery roads over mountain passes and ranges as well as pooling near roadsides and waterways.

Other impacts include very rough seas and high surf with possible coastal flooding to exposed locations and river overflows and landslides.