Posted on 10/15/2005 9:31:35 PM PDT by bd476
Tropical Storm Warning Issued for Caymans
Tropical Storm Warning Issued for Cayman Islands; Residents Begin Preparing for Worst
By JAY EHRHART
The Associated Press
GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands - A tropical storm warning was issued for the Cayman Islands on Saturday and residents, many of whom had not removed the hurricane shutters from earlier storms this season, began preparing for the worst.
The system could become Tropical Storm Wilma on Sunday, which would make it the 21st named storm of the season, tying the record for the most storms in an Atlantic season, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
The only other time that many storms have formed since record keeping began 154 years ago was in 1933, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was president and the United States was in the midst of the Great Depression.
At 11 p.m. EDT, the tropical depression was about 215 miles southeast of Grand Cayman and about 125 miles southwest of Montego Bay, Jamaica, forecasters said. It was moving southwest at 3 mph with sustained winds near 30 mph. Depressions become tropical storms when their winds reach 39 mph.
Long term forecasts show the storm would likely move in a general westward direction for the next three days, then turn to the north, possibly as a hurricane.
A hurricane watch was issued for the Cayman Islands, meaning hurricane conditions could be felt there within 36 hours.
The depression is expected to bring 3 to 5 inches of rain over the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, with as much as 10 inches possible in some areas, forecasters said.
In the Cayman Islands, 51-year-old Susan Craig was ready.
"I still have all the supplies from the previous storms this season, basically a lot peanut M&M's, so I am ready just in case," she said.
The chairman of the Cayman Islands' National Hurricane Center, Donovan Ebanks, said authorities had been monitoring the weather for several days.
"Because of where it is, and the fact that it is projected to become a tropical storm by tomorrow and possibly a hurricane in a couple of days, we've decided to go ahead and issue a tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch," he said.
In Jamaica, officials issued a flash flood warning for northwestern parts of the island. Jamaica's office of disaster preparedness said several businesses had been flooded in Montego Bay.
Hurricane season ends Nov. 30.
On the Net:
National Hurricane Center: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov
I don't know.
The models haven't been that far off...yet....
I hope you are right.
The storm has some dry air around it now, but we will see....
We've lived with you and your daughter through many canes in Grand Cayman. I believe the last bad one was Ivan, No? Prayers.
valid point, which by corrolary means if that many storms were sighted in 1933, there may have been a LOT more in the bermuda track or otherwise not noted.
You're so sweet. Yes, it was Ivan that wiped her out.
She'll likely call again tonight.
She said the storm is gong South of her.
Oh good, she would know then. Just tell her to stay safe (and I'm sure you do and she does anyway) just in case. :-)
Here's the link to her local weather.
http://www.caycompass.com/CFPCCweather.shtml
You can click "details" and it'll show you 'active' maps.
Onyx, thank you for the link. I just looked at the forecast and it appears that the system will not have any impact there other than some thunderstorms. Great news!
000
WTNT34 KNHC 162357
TCPAT4
BULLETIN
TROPICAL DEPRESSION TWENTY-FOUR INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY NUMBER 5A
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
8 PM EDT SUN OCT 16 2005
...Depression moving very slowly and not yet any stronger...
A Tropical Storm Warning and a Hurricane Watch remain in effect for
the Cayman Islands.
For storm information specific to your area...including possible
inland watches and warnings...please monitor products issued
by your local weather office.
At 8 PM EDT...0000Z...the center of Tropical Depression Twenty-four
was located near Latitude 17.7 North... Longitude 79.7 West or
about 150 miles... 245 KM... Southeast of Grand Cayman.
The Depression is moving toward the West-Northwest near 2 MPH...
4 KM/HR... and this motion is expected to continue for the next
24 hours. However... steering currents remain weak and some erratic
motion is possible during the next day or two.
Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph... 55 km/hr... with higher
gusts. The Depression is expected to become a Tropical Storm during
the next 24 hours. If it does so... it will tie the record of 21
named storms set in 1933.
The estimated Minimum Central Pressure is 1001 MB...29.56 inches.
NOAA Buoy 42057... located about 65 miles West of the circulation
center... recently reported a pressure of 1004 MB.
The depression is expected to produce rainfall accumulations of 4 to
6 inches over the Cayman Islands and Jamaica... with isolated
amounts of 8 to 12 inches possible.
Repeating the 8 PM EDT position...17.7 N... 79.7 W. Movement
toward...West-Northwest near 2 mph. Maximum sustained
winds... 35 MPH. Minimum Central Pressure...1001 MB.
The next advisory will be issued by the National Hurricane Center at
11 PM EDT.
Forecaster Knabb
$$
I love it when you have a busy weather day...lol.
A possible hurricane and an earth quake. What's next?
LOL, oh please, nothing more, except relatively mild weather and light earthquakes.
I've been sitting here thinking there was a FReeper whose daughter lived on Grand Catman, and I thought I remembered it being you but I wasn't sure. She lives in paradise as far as I'm concerned. I know they've gotten hit hard in the last two years. I hope they will weather this storm.
Yep, you're right -- my daughter and her three little ones.
They'll be A-OK -- they'll get rain and the reactionaries will clear out the grocery shelves tomorrow and form gasoline lines. The government has taken to scaring everybody since they blew it on Ivan and prohibited news cameras so "tourists" wouldn't see the damage.
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