The Antigua and Barbuda Meteorological Services has issued an urgent small craft advisory, warning of hazardous sea conditions across open Atlantic waters surrounding four major Eastern Caribbean island groups through the first half of this week. The alert, which was published at 5:45 p.m. local time on Monday, June 1, 2026, impacts open ocean areas extending 20 nautical miles off the Atlantic coastlines of Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, and the British Virgin Islands.
Each affected region faces slightly different timing for the rough conditions, with dangerous seas expected to arrive pre-dawn and persist through midday Thursday for Antigua and Barbuda. For Anguilla, the hazardous conditions will kick in at midnight Tuesday and continue through Wednesday afternoon, while the British Virgin Islands will see the threat from pre-dawn Wednesday to midday the same day.
Meteorologists attribute the unsafe conditions to a system of moderate to fresh east-southeast winds churning up a dangerous combination of wind-driven waves and swells across the region. Current wind readings over open waters range from 24 to 35 km/h (13 to 19 knots, 15 to 22 mph), with strong gusts reaching as high as 56 km/h (30 knots, 35 mph). Significant wave heights measure between 1.4 and 2.1 meters (4 to 7 feet) on average, with occasional local swells climbing to near 2.7 meters (9 feet). Dominant wind wave periods fall between 6 and 9 seconds, consistent with unstable sea conditions that meet small craft advisory thresholds.
A small craft advisory is triggered when wind speeds reach 17 to 21 knots, or when wave heights hit 7 feet or higher – conditions that are either already present or imminent across the affected areas. Forecasters have categorized the current threat level as moderate, noting that it carries the potential for significant impacts to mariners and marine-related activity. Key risks include loss of life at sea, personal injury, vessel capsizing, damage or total loss of watercraft and marine equipment, and unexpected financial losses for local industries. The hazardous conditions are also expected to disrupt commercial and small-scale fishing operations, which could lead to temporary scarcity of local fish products, as well as delays and disruptions to regional marine transportation.
In line with standard safety protocols, officials have issued a clear caution: inexperienced mariners, and all operators of smaller recreational and commercial vessels, should avoid navigating through the warned areas for the full duration of the advisory. The alert was issued by on-duty forecaster Letitia Humphreys.