Issued at 1100 AM AST Tue Sep 28 2021

ZCZC MIATCPAT3 ALL
TTAA00 KNHC DDHHMM

BULLETIN
Hurricane Sam Advisory Number 24
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL

AL182021
1100 AM AST Tue Sep 28 2021

...SAM REMAINS A POWERFUL CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE OVER THE TROPICAL
ATLANTIC...

SUMMARY OF 1100 AM AST...1500 UTC...INFORMATION
-----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...17.5N 54.3W
ABOUT 580 MI...935 KM E OF THE NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLANDS
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...130 MPH...215 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...NW OR 305 DEGREES AT 8 MPH...13 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...952 MB...28.12 INCHES

WATCHES AND WARNINGS
--------------------
There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

DISCUSSION AND OUTLOOK
----------------------
At 1100 AM AST (1500 UTC), the eye of Hurricane Sam was located near
latitude 17.5 North, longitude 54.3 West. Sam is moving toward the
northwest near 8 mph (13 km/h) and this motion with an increase in
forward is expected during the next couple of days. A turn toward
the north is forecast to occur by Friday. On the forecast track,
Sam will pass well to the east of the northern Leeward Islands
through Wednesday.

Maximum sustained winds remain near 130 mph (215 km/h) with higher
gusts. Sam is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson
Hurricane Wind Scale.

Some fluctuations in intensity are expected
during the next couple of days, but Sam is forecast to remain a
major hurricane through late this week.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 40 miles (65 km) from the
center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 140 miles
(220 km).

The estimated minimum central pressure is 952 mb (28.12 inches).

HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND
----------------------
Key messages for Sam can be found in the Tropical Cyclone
Discussion under AWIPS header MIATCDAT3 and WMO header WTNT43 KNHC.

SURF: Swells generated by Sam will impact the Lesser Antilles
during the next several days. Swells are expected to reach Bermuda
and the Bahamas in a couple of days, and then spread to the United
States east coast late this week. These swells could cause
life-threatening surf and rip current conditions. Please consult
products from your local weather office.

NEXT ADVISORY
-------------
Next complete advisory at 500 PM AST.

$$
Forecaster Cangialosi

NNNN

Social habits and lifestyle choices can directly damage your teeth and oral health.

In this column, I address how alcohol consumption, smoking, unhealthy diets and stress levels affect your oral health.

Alcohol consumption: According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), moderate alcohol consumption is considered one drink per day for women and no more than two drinks a day for men.

Alcohol dehydrates the body by inhibiting the production of a chemical, anti-diuretic hormone which regulates the amount of urine you release. Drinking alcohol actually causes your kidneys to get rid of more water than it would normally, causing dehydration throughout your body. Also, it affects the salivary glands, thus decreasing the flow of saliva causing dry mouth.

Dry mouth creates an environment for gum disease. Gum disease has also been linked to higher incidences of cancer, diabetes, stroke and heart disease. Alcohol drinkers suffer from more bleeding than non-drinkers, more plaque build-up and deeper pockets. Dehydration decreases the saliva flow in your mouth, therefore keeping the bacteria attached to the teeth.

If you’d like to enjoy an alcoholic drink, we recommend minimizing the dehydration effect by sipping water in between to replenish the saliva in your mouth. The other reason why alcohol so often leads to decay is that alcohol breaks down into sugar which attracts bacteria. One way to counteract this process is to floss, brush and use mouthwash after you drink alcohol or any sugary beverage.

Role of smoking: Tooth discoloration is just one of several problems associated with smoking. Smokers are three to six times more likely to develop gum disease than non-smokers. The most common oral problems affecting people who smoke are gum disease, mouth cancer, tooth decay, tooth loss, poor healing and bad breath. In periodontal disease, the tell-tale sign is bleeding upon probing. Smokers do not usually bleed when probed because smoking dampens the natural immune response. This lack of bleeding gives a false sense of security. If you examine a little closer, the pocket depths or bone loss is usually far worse because of smoking.

Role of stress: Stress is a common cause of health problems and your oral health is no exception. Stress may contribute to teeth grinding, gum disease, canker sores and dry mouth. Also, it impacts your oral health routine and diet, thus increasing your risk of tooth decay.

For the second time in three years, missing last year because of time taken off over concerns for the coronavirus pandemic, Bahamian Jonquel “JJ” Jones is a top five finisher for the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) Award.

Jones, who tied a career-high in steals at 1.3 per game and added 1.3 blocks per game, finished tied for third for defensive player of the year for the second time, and also secured her second first team selection on the WNBA All-Defensive Team. Jones recently won the peak performer award for rebounds, for the third time in her career, and was unanimously selected as the the Associated Press’ (AP) WNBA Player of the Year.

Many believe it’s a prelude of what’s to come. The Bahamian women’s professional basketball player is the frontrunner for the WNBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, which would be a historic accomplishment for a Bahamian athlete. No other Bahamian athlete has ever won an MVP award in a major professional sports organization.

The Connecticut Sun post player had an impressive year, averaging career-highs in points and assists and tying a career-high in steals. Jones dropped in 19.4 points per game – fourth-best in the league this year and four points per game higher than her previous career-high of 15.4 that was done in 2017. She won the rebounding title for the third time in her career, averaging double-digit rebounds at 11.2 per game.

Jones, 27, was one of just two players in the league to average a double-double and led the league in double-doubles with 18. The other player to average a double-double this season was Minnesota Lynx center Sylvia Fowles who was named as the 2021 Kia WNBA Defensive Player of the Year on Sunday – her fourth top defender award in the league, joining five-time winner Tamika Catchings as the only players in league history to win the award four or more times.

Fowles received 31 votes from a national panel of 49 sportswriters and broadcasters. Los Angeles Sparks guard Brittney Sykes finished second place with six votes, and Jones and Phoenix Mercury forward Brianna Turner tied for third with four votes each. Phoenix center Brittney Griner received two votes for fifth and Connecticut guards Briann January and Jasmine Thomas received one vote each.

As for 6’6” 202-pound post player Jones, she was sensational this year leading the Sun into the playoffs as the top seed with a 26-6 win/loss record – their best mark in franchise history. They ended the season on a 14-game winning streak – the fourth-longest in league history, and the longest win streak at the end of a season in history.

The Sun will host the Chicago Sky in game one of their WNBA best-of-five semifinal series at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, on Tuesday – one of just two teams to beat them at least twice this season, but both times without Jones in the line-up as she was playing for Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 2021 European Women’s Basketball Championship (EuroBasket Women 2021).

The Fiscal Responsibility Council released its first assessment of the government’s Fiscal Strategy Report (FSR), revealing that the last administration was “broadly compliant” in providing the content required by the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), though the council chided the former government for omitting important statistics and data in its report and for not providing a stand-alone Fiscal Adjustment Plan (FAP) the two times it was forced to deviate from its fiscal plan.

The council’s assessment was of the government’s 2020 FSR in which it largely provided facts and figures on the country’s fiscal performance and direction as prescribed by the act, though the council contended more could have been added in the way of additional data, especially forward-looking macroeconomic data.

“… There is a need for tightening and strengthening of the structure of the analysis, including strengthening linkages of performance data and macroeconomic conditions to projected outcomes, and connectivity of strategies and projected outcomes to supporting justifications,” the report read.

“As FSRs are subject to independent assessments of compliance, the structure should closely align with the content requirements and should build a framework of analysis explicitly around those requirements with focused integration of other supporting content, for effective analysis. Future FSRs should seek to achieve this.

“The extent and quality of the sourcing of data are considered material deficiencies, notably the lack of national statistics for domestic income projections, including domestic income forecasts by its components.”

The assessment report grades the government’s input on whether it was compliant, generally compliant, somewhat compliant, or non-compliant in the provision of information required by the FRA.

The government was found to be non-compliant in presenting exchange rates with major partners; the level of financial and performance guarantees; an assessment of the consistency of the planned fiscal policy aggregates and measurable fiscal objectives; and its reason for missing information.

The council noted that the government relied on data from the International Monetary Fund for its submission on the long-term macroeconomic forecasts.