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- Morning Sunshine
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- From: "Kate Cole" <kate at katecoledesign.com>
- Date: Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:52:18 -0400
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Last night around
8:00PM the wind picked up on the Maelcon and sent the quenepas flying from the
trees. We saw the lighting and my husband said be prepared to run
inside... rain is coming. However we did not receive any rain from
storm but had a great lighting show in the east. And it blew the
mosquitoes away temporarily. The mangrove behind us is full of water and
is a mosquito breeding ground! At one point yesterday I thought they were
going to pick me up and carry me away. We are hoping for a little more
rain to water the plants and fill the rain barrels. It is not looking good
today unless we get a surprise thunderstorm. I'm off to sweep up the
quenepas on the porch. This time of year this chore never
ends.
Stay safe and
prepared.
Kate
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- If you think you may be in control, think again.
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- From: "Karen" <knotimpaired at earthlink.net>
- Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:20:59 -0400
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Just over 4 hours ago while Lee and I had just
finished breakfast we heard a loud crack. Not like thunder, just distinct enough
to know something major had happened. We heard no car so we knew it was not a
accident.
I was the first out the door and saw my neighbor
running back towards her house. I screamed at Lee to come find out what was
happening. He was already heading for the generator. I ran up the hill and was
totally shocked. Our trash truck knocked down the power line and it was laying
on top of it. I yelled if everyone was ok and they said no, call the police. The
driver needed help getting out.
I ran back home and literally had trouble calling
911. My hands shook so bad I dropped my cell and ran in to use the house
phone.
While we all think we can handle emergencies, let
me tell you, maybe we can not. Let us not think we can be capable to handle a
emergency. I learned a lesson this morning, tough person that I think I am, I
froze and could not think right. It makes me wonder if we have a storm out
here, how would I really handle it.
I have found out that the whole island is out of
power because of this and I am not sure about Culebra since it receives power
thru us.
Lee walked up the road a bit ago and we have about
14 men scratching their heads trying to figure this out. The garbage truck is
gone, the driver shaken but ok. We happen to live at the bottom of the road so
we cannot leave.
We are waiting for the gas to run out of the
generator and let it cool down for about 20 minutes but for all of you on the
island, do not expect this to be back up soon.
Moral to this? Hug the one you love.
By the way, whatever happened to our municipal
generator? Maybe we need to address this situation.
Attached is a photo.
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Attachment:
DSCF5139.JPG
Description: JPEG image
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- Rain, Rain, Rain
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- From: "Karen" <knotimpaired at earthlink.net>
- Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2008 07:23:06 -0400
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I woke up minutes ago to hear our generator running
and then the phone started to ring. Do we have power our friend Tom asked. Nope,
we did not. He was trying to decide whether it was worth hooking his generator
up to make coffee or maybe he was hinting he wanted to come over and have some
of ours. But during the call the power came back on so he is now a happy camper.
Apparently the power went out at about 5
a.m.
The storm came through after midnight and my
husband and Tom both said it was a dozy when it came through. Very loud and tons
of lightening. Me? I slept through it all. It must have been that white russian
I had at Al's Mar Azul that did me in. Who knows...
We have had over 3" of rain here at the house and
as far as I can tell the only thing damaged is a papaya tree about 20' fell over
on the pump house for the pool but until the rain stops it will stay where it
is.
Other than that, the island is
quite.
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- Manatees at play
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- From: "Karen" <knotimpaired at earthlink.net>
- Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2008 18:35:34 -0400
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We have just returned from a few days on the big
island to find out we have a new invest, 92L. San Juan NWS says it will be here
on thursday and will probably be a big rain event but they are not mentioning
winds yet. We will have to monitor this close.
The big island was hot, hot, and HOT! We went down
to Playa Naguabo and had lunch on the Malecon which was delicious. What a gem of
a fishing village but I foresee change for that area if Roosevelt Roads does go
international (aero). This area is so unspoiled I know someone will have to go
in and ruin it.
Both yesterday and today we watched the manatees
from our balcony. We were not sure if it was a mom and baby but after
downloading them they both appear to be the same size so we have decided they
may be a happy couple. Pic attached.
Around 1 we headed north on 53 from Humacao and ran
into a rainstorm that was so heavy that people were using their hazard lights.
That reminded me too much of I-95 and why we moved to Vieques. Crazy northern
drivers!
Yesterday while looking out from the condo towards
the ferry dock I noticed our new boat, the Cayo Largo. When asked, Kathy
(one of our finest ferry captains) said the boat would be coming over tomorrow
for the opening ceremony. I guess this ends all speculation about which island
is getting the boat, Culebra or us. But when you live here you have to
understand everything is subject to change
and normally does. pic attached.
It is nice to be home but I am not looking forward
to 92L if it brings wind. Keep a eye out for our weather at www.playacofi.com. Remember our house is
just west of Isabel Segunda so this reflects our weather on the north coast, not
on the hills.
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Attachment:
New Ferry Cayo Largo.JPG
Description: JPEG image
Attachment:
Manatees at play.JPG
Description: JPEG image
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- July - Plenty of festivals and holidays, but no rain
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- From: "Karen" <knotimpaired at earthlink.net>
- Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2008 05:11:29 -0400
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As this month ends, the July 2008
rain total may go down in the history books for the least amount of rain
recorded. We have only received .67" for the entire month and the weak tropical
wave coming in is not forecast to bring any moisture until the early
morning of tomorrow, the 1st. I am posting this July recap early since I will be
off island tonight but for current info you can always go to our website www.playacofi.com for the current weather
conditions.
Since installing our Weatherhawk system on July
2nd, 2004 the July rainfall totals are as follows.
2004
2.99"
2005
4.88"
2006
4.58"
2007
3.78"
2008
.67"
For the record, Weather.com states that our average
rainfall for July is 4.38".
The drought we are experiencing is hitting us hard.
The barrios of Monte Carmelo and Borinquen have been without water for almost a
week as have some of the barrios in the higher elevations but from what we have
been told is that the water company is doing rotations rationing the water in
barrios for periods of 1 week so they should get their water back soon then some
other section will be shut down. Everything is brown, it resembles January,
certainly not July.
One thing July does bring us though is Festivals,
Flower Shows and weekly monday holidays here in Puerto Rico. We had our Patron
Saint Festival the 16th thru the early morning hours of the 21st. The music
played until after 4:00 a.m. every morning. Since we are not known to stay out
late we decided to do the opposite than most this year. We woke up at 2 in
the morning, made our coffee and went down to watch the dancing and music till
about 4 but at least we were bright eyed, not dead on our feet which many of the
dancers by that time looked. That is one thing I have to say for the residents
here in Vieques, they have the stamina to stay up and party and dance all night.
They did not want Patronales to end!
Last weekend was attended the St. James Festival in
Loiza which was by far our favorite of the year. The Aibonita Flower Show was an
orchid collectors dream (we tend to kill ours so we shy away from
them).
All in all since there has been no weather to
report for the month of July other than drought, drought, drought we have been
busy visiting various areas of PR and enjoying the fair weather until hurricane
season decides to bless us with some tropical moisture. Attached are a few
photos taken this month.
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Attachment:
Loiza Masks.JPG
Description: JPEG image
Attachment:
Saint Santiago.JPG
Description: JPEG image
Attachment:
sunrise in Fajardo.JPG
Description: JPEG image
Attachment:
Bob Marley Tribute Band 330 am monday morning.JPG
Description: JPEG image
Attachment:
Patronales Princess.JPG
Description: JPEG image
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- Vieques
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- From: "Karen" <knotimpaired at earthlink.net>
- Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2008 08:49:57 -0400
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For those of you thinking about
taking the ferry in the next few days.
AMZ730-082230-
/O.EXB.TJSJ.SC.Y.0159.080709T0600Z-080709T1200Z/
CARIB
WATERS FROM PUNTA VIENTO TO CABO SAN JUAN S TO 17N AND E TO
64W
INCLUDING THE CARIB WATERS OF CULEBRA VIEQUES AND THE U.S.
VIRGIN
ISLANDS-
443 AM AST TUE JUL 8
2008
SMALL CRAFT SHOULD EXERCISE
CAUTION
TODAY
EAST NORTHEAST WINDS 15 TO 20
KNOTS. SEAS 4 TO 6 FEET IN
EAST NORTHEAST SWELLS. ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORMS IN THE MORNING.
SCATTERED SHOWERS.
TONIGHT
EAST NORTHEAST
WINDS 11 TO 16 KNOTS. SEAS 5 TO 7 FEET IN
EAST NORTHEAST SWELLS.
SCATTERED SHOWERS.
WEDNESDAY
EAST WINDS 10 TO 15 KNOTS. SEAS
5 TO 7 FEET IN EAST
NORTHEAST SWELLS. ISOLATED
SHOWERS.
WEDNESDAY
NIGHT
EAST WINDS 8 TO 13 KNOTS. SEAS 5 TO 6 FEET
IN
EAST NORTHEAST SWELLS. SCATTERED SHOWERS.
THURSDAY
EAST WINDS 9 TO 14
KNOTS. SEAS 5 TO 6 FEET. SCATTERED
SHOWERS.
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- Vieques
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- From: "Karen" <knotimpaired at earthlink.net>
- Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2008 16:54:09 -0400
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I should thank someone above that this holiday
weekend is over. Well maybe for most but I think today is a PR
holiday.
Short of getting lost trying to find the Aibonita
Flower Show the weekend was a great success if one were smart to stay inside,
which is what I chose to do.
Vieques and Culebra had record ferry numbers for
the weekend. Vieques had 1,300 and Culebra had 1,600 visitors. Fajardo was dry
until I was just about to leave saturday on the afternoon ferry and the clouds
opened up. Visibility was down to about 1/8th of a mile for a little over 10
minutes. I am beginning to realize that when it rains in Fajardo, it pours.
I spent the 4th watching boats leaving the Fajardo
marinas on their way to Culebra, Icacos, Palominos and all of the smaller
islands. The 4th did not have a drop of rain so I am sure there were many happy
campers out there. At 9:30 pm the Conquistador had a fireworks show that
happened to be right off our balcony (25th floor). Attached is a few photos of
the 4th in Fajardo.
Since returning we have had short showers
periodically but nothing to write home about. We still need to water which can
take forever when you have an acre to deal with. Maybe next year instead of
buying plants at the Aibonito show I will invest in plastic flowers from Walmart
that do not need watering (smile).
It seems that Bertha is going to head to the north
of us and not even a high seas or wind threat. Yippee, we managed to dodge that
bullet, let's hope our luck holds out.
Enjoys the rest of the week. The Vieques forecast
is 50% rain for tomorrow into early wednesday then dropping to 20% again for the
rest of the week.
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Attachment:
green pink and white.JPG
Description: JPEG image
Attachment:
boats heading out 4th.JPG
Description: JPEG image
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- Vieques
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- From: "Karen" <knotimpaired at earthlink.net>
- Date: Wed, 2 Jul 2008 06:10:22 -0400
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About an hour ago our tin roof started dancing to
the tune of rain. Yeah!! Enough so we do not need to water today. Only if
we were so lucky every day. Our family left yesterday after a weeks visit and
the weather stayed dry but the seas were up most of the week, 5-7' so we had to
cancel our scuba charter with Nan-Sea Charters and snorkel at green beach
instead :(
We are off to our
condo in Puerto Rico for the weekend to attend the Aibonito Flower Show. For
those that are not familiar with it it is the largest tropical flower show in
the Caribbean and should not be missed. It runs until the 8th.
We will
not only be posting Vieques weather this season but also PR weather while there
as the season progresses. We hope the rain predicted does not dampen anyone's 4th of
July activities. Stay safe and enjoy the weekend.
Everyone should keep a eye out for Invest 92L but
most predictions I am seeing calls for it to take a turn to the north. This is
the latest from the SJ National Weather Service discussion.
Note: Although the discussion
below calls for the possibility of rain for thursday and friday the local
NWS forecast for Vieques calls for 20% chance until friday night when it changes
to 40% until saturday night when it drops back down to 20%.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JUAN PR
418 AM
AST WED JUL 2 2008
.DISCUSSION...
ATLANTIC ANTICYCLONE WILL BEGIN
TO PROPAGATE AND REPOSITION
ITSELF SLOWLY EASTWARD OVER THE COURSE OF THE
NEXT SEVERAL DAYS.
THIS WILL BE EVIDENT BY THE GRADUAL 700-850 MB WIND SHIFT
FROM
EAST TO SOUTHEAST BY THIS AFTERNOON. WINDS OUT OF THIS DIRECTION
WILL
SLIGHTLY INCREASE THE TEMPERATURE ALONG THE NORTHERN COAST OF
PUERTO RICO DUE
TO A DOWNSLOPE EFFECT AS WELL AS SHIFT THE DIURNAL
PRECIPITATION BULLSEYE
FROM THE WESTERN INTERIOR TO THE
NORTHWESTERN INTERIOR FOR
WEDNESDAY.
MULTIPLE WAVES ALONG THE ITCZ IN
THE TROPICAL ATLANTIC CAN BE SEEN
VIA LATEST SATELLITE IMAGERY THIS MORNING.
WHILE THE LARGEST AND
MOST IMPRESSIVE TROPICAL WAVE WITH TWO DISTINCT EASTERN
AND
WESTERN VORT MAXES OFF THE COAST OF AFRICA HAS CAUGHT THE
ATTENTION OF
MANY...IT REMAINS NEARLY A WEEK AWAY FROM THE LESSER
ANTILLES. OF MORE
IMMEDIATE CONCERN WILL BE THE TROPICAL WAVE
LOCATED NEAR 10N AND 52W...WHICH
IS EXPECTED TO PROPAGATE
WESTWARD JUST SOUTH OF PUERTO RICO AND THE U.S.V.I.
THE PROXIMITY
OF THE WAVE TO THE LOCAL AREA WILL INCREASE THE POTENTIAL
FOR
INCREASED SHOWER ACTIVITY THURSDAY THROUGH
FRIDAY.
THE LATEST ENSEMBLE GUIDANCE FOR THE IMPRESSIVE
TROPICAL WAVE THAT
EXITED THE AFRICAN COAST SUGGEST A MORE NORTHWEST TURN
WITH TIME
AS THE SURFACE HIGH IN THE ATLANTIC SHIFTS EASTWARD. IF THIS
IS
CONFIRMED...ANY POTENTIAL TROPICAL DEVELOPMENT FROM THIS WAVE
MAY
BYPASS THE ISLANDS AND THE LOCAL FORECAST AREA...LEAVING THE
POTENTIAL
ONLY FOR INCREASED SEAS. OF COURSE...DUE TO THE NATURE
OF
THESE SYSTEMS COMBINED WITH NUMERICAL WEATHER PREDICTION FORECAST
TRACK ERROR
THIS FAR INTO THE FUTURE...IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT
RESIDENTS...TOURISTS...AND
MARINERS STAY TUNED TO FUTURE UPDATES
FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE.
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- Vieques
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- From: "Karen" <knotimpaired at earthlink.net>
- Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2008 09:27:08 -0400
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These past few days have been so bright and
clear.
While walking the pier yesterday morning we could
actually see the sunning bouncing off the windows of the houses on the mountain
over at Yabucoa which is 24.5 miles from the pier (google earth). The sun was so
bright that we could not see Culebra or St Thomas from there.
But went to our condo in Fajardo yesterday and St.
Thomas could be seen which is 45 miles according to google earth. If only it
could be like this every day. But alas, the
tropical wave is supposed to come in tonight and then another wave on monday so
our "chamber of commerce" days will be ending soon.
Attached is a photo taken from the airport
yesterday morning of the clarity showing the houses on the Humacao hills 22
miles away which is rare to see with the naked eye.
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Attachment:
Humacao from airport.JPG
Description: JPEG image
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