Caribbean Hurricane Network

Active Tropical Systems: None!
Atlantic Hurricane Season is from June 1 - November 30

GOES-12 Satellite - Zoomed in on the Caribbean (19:45 UTC, 40 minutes ago)
Vertical gridlines 10° or about 650 miles (~1050 km) apart. [more satellite imagery].

Thursday, March 11, 2010 15:38PM PST - Upcoming Hurricane Season expected to be more active

AccuWeather issued an early forecast for the 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Not surprising, since El Nino is waning, it will be more active than last year. They are forecasting 16-18 named storms, well above the normal of 11. In a couple of weeks Colorado State will issue their forecast again. Probably forecasting an active season as well. We'll see, we are prepared, aren't we? Also, don't forget about Haiti, they still need a lot of help to get ready for the upcoming season. See for example this UN article published today. There are still many ways to donate. -Gert

Tuesday, March 2, 2010 15:50PM PST - More Soufriere Hills Volcano images and photos

NASA's Earth Observatory is featuring some more nice satellite images of the recent dome collapse, showing the extent of the pyroclastic flows. Also found on that webpage are two links to photo galleries of impressive on the ground photos of the volcano (stromboli online and MVO Flickr). -Gert

Friday, February 12, 2010 14:07PM PST - Vocanic ash going everywhere...

Below a satellite image from MODIS/Terra showing the volcanic ash from the recent dome collapse of Soufriere Hills on Montsersat. It looks like it is going everywhere as the local reports found on the right indicate as well. This looks quite different from the Volcanic Ash Advisories. I got this image from the Nasa's MODIS Rapid Response System. Much higher resolution images available as well. -Gert

Thursday, February 11, 2010 13:33PM PST - Partial dome collapse Montserrat

Today a partial dome collapse event occured at the Soufriere Hills volcano. This was a pretty big event with ash rising to at least 50,000ft! Luckily the ash is going towards the east, not towards other islands. It looks like you can easily see it on the GOES satellite image on the left (Feb.11,2010 20:45UTC). See reports by the hurricane correspondents or check out the Montserrat Volcano Observatory website for more info. -Gert

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 16:08PM PST - People Registry

A lot of people seem to be unaware that the International Committee of the Red Cross has set up a people registry. You can register yourself or a relative. The website is called: Family News Network of the International Committee of the Red Cross. If you are looking for US Citizens in Haiti contact the US Dept. of State at: 1 (888) 407 4747 or see this webpage. -Gert

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 15:56PM PST - Haiti Death Toll at 200,000!

It is hard to believe, but the death toll after the Earthquake has risen to 200,000. And the situation is not getting better, maybe worse. It is a very frustrating situation. It seems that there is great difficulty to get relief supplies from the Haiti airport to the people. Doctors from outside Haiti want to help out, but the logistics of it all prevents them from gaining entry to Haiti. The numbers are also staggering, the UN World Food Program estimates that it needs 100 million prepared meals to help the Haitians for the next 30 days. There seems to be a general lack of information dissemination to the Haitian people which is only leading to more frustration... We can help somewhat by donating, please do so! Some updates I get from my Haitian hurricane correspondents are posted here.
Grand Cayman had a scary moment as well, this morning it was hit by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake. But, unlike in Haiti, all seems well. See some pictures on the Cayman updates page. -Gert

Wednesday, January 13, 2010 20:17PM PST - Text Money to Haiti!

As we are all aware now, it doesn't look good for poor Haiti after the disastrous earthquake. Money is needed now. I know of three relief efforts where you can text money. Your donation will 'conveniently' be added to your phone bill. The amounts are $5-$10, not much, but since it is so convenient, and if many people do it, it will generate a lot of money. I am not sure if it works in the Caribbean or Europe or elsewhere or when you have a prepaid plan:
- Red Cross, text "HAITI" to "90999" for a $10 donation
- Wyclef jean's Yele Organization, text "Yele" to "501501" for a $5 donation
- Bill Clinton Foundation - Haiti Relief Fund, text "HAITI" to "20222" for a $10 donation
Or just visit the website to donate with credit card. I also listed on the Haiti-updates page a link to many other organizations where you can donate to. Please, help! -Gert

Tuesday, January 12, 2010 18:55PM PST - Tsunami Watch Cancelled and Call to Donate

Just a short update, the tsunami watch that was issued after the Haiti earthquake has been cancelled. Unfortunately it doesn't look good for Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas. They already had more than their fair share of misery with the tropical storms last year, and now this... Consider making a donation to the Red Cross, every little bit helps. If everyone who visits stormCARIB and reads this donates just $10, we'll raise $1000s! Also, check if your employer is mathing your gift to the Red Cross on this website so it doubles the impact. I am tryig to get some reports from Haiti, but it will be hard. News.google.com is always a good source. -Gert

Tuesday, January 12, 2010 14:49PM PST - Strong 7.0 Earthquake in Haiti

A strong earthquake has just hit Haiti, just 15 miles from the capital Port au Prince, with a couple aftershocks (see details on the USGS website). There is also a local tsunami watch in effect for Haiti, Cuba, the Bahamas and Dominican Republic (see the NOAA website). There are reports of a collapsed hospital. Hope it's not too bad for poor Haiti... -Gert

Friday, January 1, 2010 08:50AM PST - Happy New Year!

All the best for the year 2010 to all in the Caribbean and everyone else who is following this website. And special well wishes to Dave who got engaged last year! Glad the 2009 Hurricane Season was very uneventful for us, and hopefully 2010 will bring us more of the same. Special thank you to all my great special hurricane correspondents who are always ready to report and make this website what it is! -Gert

Friday, December 11, 2009 14:11PM PST - Next hurricane season expected to be above average

The other day renowned hurricane forecasters Gray&Klotzbach of Colorado State University issued their first forecast for the 2010 Hurricane Season. Since El Nino should be gone next summer, they expect an above average season with 11-16 named storms, and 6-8 hurricanes of which 3-5 will be major (normal is 9.6, 5.9 and 2.3, resp.). The probability that the Caribbean sees at least one major hurricane is 53%, normal is 42%. This is for the Caribbean as a whole, not just one island. Recent analog years, where conditions were similar to now, are 2003 and 1998. I don't remember any big ones in 2003, but 1998 was the year of island hopper Georges and killer Mitch... Read the full forecast on the Colorado State website. -Gert

Tuesday, December 1, 2009 08:38AM PST - End of 2009 Hurricane Season

I always look forward to see this in the Tropical Weather Outlook: TODAY MARKS THE END OF THE 2009 ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON. ISSUANCE OF THIS PRODUCT WILL RESUME ON 1 JUNE 2010. This season was a nice change from some recent ones we've had! It started late with the first named storm not forming until August 12. In September there were only two named storms. There were some relatively close calls, but the only storm that caused some trouble in our region was Hurricane Ida, that made landfall in Nicaragua and moved over Honduras as a tropical depression. A nice summary of the season can be found on wikipedia.org. We still have to keep an eye on the tropics though, since it is not uncommon for tropical storms to develop outside the 'official' hurricane season, but chances are slim. Enjoy the rest of the year! -Gert

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