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- Update from the Spiceisle
  • From: "Mark and Jill" <email at grenadavilla.co.uk>
  • Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2008 07:27:04 -0400
It's been a while since I last wrote, but of course the weather has been
predictably warm, dry and windy over the last few months. This last week has
at brought a few welcome showers to Grenada, but probably less than an inch
of rain in total ( my trusty $5 rain gauge ). Still the island is noticeably
greener and as the ritual garden watering in the evenings is not required
there's more time to write reports for stormcarib .


Mark ( www.grenadavilla.co.uk  the place to find a great place to stay in
Grenada )
- Update from the Spiceisle
  • From: "Mark and Jill" <email at grenadavilla.co.uk>
  • Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2008 07:15:12 -0400
It's been a while since I last wrote, but of course the weather has been
predictably warm, dry and windy over the last few months. This last week has
at brought a few welcome showers to Grenada, but probably less than an inch
of rain in total ( my trusty $5 rain gauge ). Still the island is noticeably
greener and as the ritual garden watering in the evenings is not required
there's more time to write reports for stormcarib .


Mark ( www.grenadavilla.co.uk  the place to find a great place to stay in
Grenada )
- Rough seas and SNOW!!!
  • From: "Wild in Grenada" <Chris at wildingrenada.com>
  • Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2008 10:01:53 -0000
Hi all, in Grenada and other islands,
Just having a break in the UK. I have heard that the large waves have reached Grenada, although not as bad as further north. Hope all is OK there. Anyway, thought you might like to hear (and see) that we woke up this morning to SNOW, about 2-3 inches of it. This is Easter Sunday, not Christmas day!
Still it is nice to see the snow, from the comfort of a centrally heated house. 

I hope to be back to the warmth of Grenada soon.

All the best

Hogan


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- WAVE ACTION IN GRENADA
  • From: cjuerakhan at yahoo.com
  • Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2008 12:13:03 -0300
Title: Kodak HTML Email

HI,
I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS THE WAY TO GO. I WAS DISAPPOINTED WHEN I DIDN'T SEE ANY UPDATES FROM GDA. THIS IS MY FIRST TIME TRYING TO SEND PICS. THESE WERE TAKEN FROM PALMISTE BEACH, ST. JOHN'S, CLOSE TO MY HOME. I LIVE ON A HILL IN MT. NESBIT AND I CAN HEAR THE WAVES BREAKING FROM MY VERANDAH. I'M HAPPY TO SHARE THESE WITH YOU. GOD BLESS. CJ
GDA.

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- Another week passes.
  • From: "Wild in Grenada" <Chris at wildingrenada.com>
  • Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2008 16:13:05 -0000
Well after my hobby horse ride last week (talking about scrub fires). I would like to report that the plot across the road from me was burned today. Fortunately there was little wind when they started, and they had been told to start burning at the top of the hill first. Apart from suffering choking smoke and ash dropping all over the veranda, it went off without spreading. Now the plot is completely devoid of any plants and wildlife.
I approached the guys that had chopped the trees down and were now doing the burning. As a part of the conversation I asked what do you do if you find 'serpents' (Grenadian name for Tree Boas, a small version of a Boa-constrictor)? They said 'Kill em' without any hesitation. I find this such a shame, especially as there is an increase in rats on the island. I tried to point out that more people have died from diseases spread by rats than have ever died from snake bites, but he replied 'don't like em, kill em'.
For interest, Grenada has no poisonous snakes, a fact that does not seem to be taught in schools here. They are very slow moving, normally curled up happily in a tree doing no one any harm, unless you try to touch them, then they will defend themselves, by biting. Best left alone to do the job they are good at, killing vermin.
Now I will get off hobby horse No.2, and say that we have had no rain over the last week and the dry rain forests are looking a bit more brown. The garden plants are struggling, but we have a watering 'computer' that comes on twice a day (6am & 6pm) for about 15 minutes, it waters some of our more delicate plants. It is gravity fed from our water tank, the level in which is dropping rapidly. We should have sufficient to last us through until the rain comes again.
I see from one of the other island reports, that the Caribbean can expect some high waves later in the week. Apparently starting Wednesday, in the north. I don't know if this will affect the more southerly islands, but watch out. 

Beach picnic and a swim tomorow, looking forward to that.

All the best to you all for the year ahead.

Hogan
- Dry Season not too bad.
  • From: "Wild in Grenada" <Chris at wildingrenada.com>
  • Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2008 12:48:46 -0000
Hi all,
Well, so far, the dry season hasn't been too bad. The South of the island, the area that gets least rain, is looking reasonably green. Just slightly brownish blobs in the coastal forest areas. But still a couple of months to go.
We have had rain most nights (except the last two). Unfortunately this hasn't dampened down the scrub enough to stop some local scrub clearance fires (preparing to build) getting out of control. We had a fire engine up and down all day trying to put one out. I am afraid people don't consider the consequences when they set it alight. There is another area closer to us that will be burned this coming week. The strong winds just fan the flames. If the land owners were sent the bill for this thoughtless act, maybe it wouldn't happen so much. Also, why do people have to chop everything down on a plot? In amongst the scrub and forest are some very nice trees that would give shade. Shade means cooler. The excessive heat after Ivan was due to lack of shade, not higher air temperatures. Also trees give homes for wildlife, birds, lizards, etc. Does the human race have to destroy everything?
Trees also convert Carbondioxide to Oxygen. We should all try to do a little to help.
Sorry if this all sounds a little environmentalist, but it does have a knock on affect to the weather, and thus storms. 

All the best to all of you for the coming season.

Hogan
- Gardening in Grenada in the dry season!
  • From: "Wild in Grenada" <Chris at wildingrenada.com>
  • Date: Sat, 26 Jan 2008 07:30:02 -0400
Hello all that read this post.
Weatherwise, there is very little to say, The thing that tells me that we are in the dry season is the water tank has dropped by a couple of thousand gallons. This means we are using it faster than any rain is replenishing it. Infact we have had a fair few light showers which are helping to keep everything green. Looking at the satelite images, we are in that NE stream of low fluffy clouds that extend right across the Atlantic. We are in that steady NE trade winds that keep our bedrooms fairly cool at night (one night about 3 days ago, it felt cold).
We are doing a major change of one of our flowerbeds. Since we moved in 3 years + ago this bit of garden has been waiting. It did have plants, but they have been struggling to survive in, mostly, builders rubble and subsoil. So after some major retaining wall work we have removed the worst of the soil and replaced with better soil, built a path over waste pipes, and moved all the plants! The connection this has with the weather is that we are pleased with the small showers we are getting, to help reroot the plants. The watering is helped by a watering computer that comes on automatically for 10 mins twice a day. Some of the plants that really looked as if they wouldn't survive we hacked down drastically, so they didn't loose so much water, this seems to be working.
Had a great sailing trip a few days ago, see http://www.panoramio.com/photo/7290137 
for a lovely view of Grenada from just off the west coast.

All the best for the comming season.

Hogan
- Christmas Greetings
  • From: jacqueline dowden <jacquiedowden at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Sat, 22 Dec 2007 10:42:19 +0000
Good morning to all you wonderful people on the Storm Carib web site.   Miss Mermaid, I too have a  fussy cat who only eats biscuits and they have to be fresh and crunchy...... the dogs get the ones he has left to get soft.
We have at last had a break in the wet and windy weather and have had  a couple of good days, today looks as though it will be bright and sunny too.  I was beginning to think the Christmas breeze had had a memory lapse and thought it was still 'that' season but hopefully it has got it right now and we will have a dry (ahemmmm not too dry!!) Christmas. I love the cooler nights at this time of year when you can actually pull up the duvet cover (obviously an empty one) and cuddle up.


I would like to wish all the Correspondents a Happy, Healthy and Merry Christmas and may your New Year be peaceful and calm.


Jacquie

xx


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- Clearer today
  • From: jacqueline dowden <jacquiedowden at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2007 11:54:49 +0000
It may be a bit brighter today but the wind has not stopped all night and neither the noise from my neighbour's shed roof!!! Yesterday morning a second of the roof blew off (it was the wind that did it!) and for the rest of the day and night I could keep hearing that awful sound of rattling galvanise.... memories I could do without at this time of year.  Every now and then a huge gust blows up the valley and the fact that I am surrounded by bush, banana, fruit and just about any other tree does not help with the noise.... and of course this one neighbour and his galvanise!!

You should all be able to tell from my spelling that I am not American as my spell check is lit up light a Christmas tree with red underline..... :)

Town it is today, I just won't look at the dogs as I close the gate....

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- Wild weather
  • From: "storm tracker" <grenadatracker at gmail.com>
  • Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2007 09:57:31 -0400
Point Salines is posting winds of 21kt, but the gusts seem quite a bit stronger than that. The weather this morning was very reminiscent of Felix this summer....the rain has been strong enough to white-out visibility at the end of our back yard, and our concrete house has sprung three leaks! I have great sympathy for persons living in poorly built homes this morning, particularly if they haven't got internet at home to relay their concerns about what kind of weather we're having......as there is no 'weather' channel for us to rely on to explain what is being experienced on the ground.
- I'd like to give this weather a name!!
  • From: jacqueline dowden <jacquiedowden at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2007 11:07:05 +0000
Morning Folks..... and by no means a good one!!!  Wow where did this come from? We've rain and wind most of the night and this morning you would think it was still Hurricane Season and we were experiencing a Tropical Storm.... really big gusts up here in Mt. Moritz.  My sister just phoned to tell me she has been awake since 3 am frightened we were getting a bad storm.  I don't think I'll go to town today, my dogs would never forgive me if I put them out in this weather; they are all cozy and comfy indoors and deliberately not looking at me in case I put them out... bills can wait another day!

I was going to write how lovely the weather had been, beautiful sunshine in the day and cool at night but this morning I even have my veranda doors shut which is virtually unheard of.

Jacquie



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- Weather layer on Google Earth.
  • From: "Wild in Grenada" <Chris at wildingrenada.com>
  • Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 07:11:38 -0400
Hi all,
 
Not much to say about the weather in Grenada. Seems pretty normal for the time of year. A few occasional showers, mostly overnight.  Not much breeze for a couple of days, and pleasant temperatures overnight.
 
As it is weather related, thought I might point out Google Earth now has a weather layer. This shows the cloud systems around the globe, in almost real-time. Also the temperatures if you zoom in to an area.  Click on the weather icon and get more info, including forecasts, in some areas.
 
Not weather related, but interesting, is the Geographic web layer that shows photos taken of an area. As you zoom in, you will see blue dots appear (if you have geographic web layer on). Closer in they turn to camera icons. Click on these to see photos taken (supposedly) from that spot. Click on the photo to get further info about the photo and to see others in the area that are not yet on Google Earth. And,yes you will find some of my photos if you look around Grenada.
 
Wishing you all seasons greetings and calm weather for next year.
 
Hogan of Grenada
 
 
- The Earthquake.
  • From: "Wild in Grenada" <Chris at wildingrenada.com>
  • Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:08:54 -0400
Hi folks,
 
Well that was my first experience of a quake. I believe the slow rocking motion was due the the depth of the epicentre (90 miles).
 
Having been working hard, I thought I would sit for a while. When I first felt the mopement I thought it was me. Then the security grills started rattlng.  The strangest thing was the sound of sploshing water coming from the water tank, followed by it overflowing!
The movement here in Grenada was a kind of gentle rocking, nothing violent. Just imagine the energy required to move all these islands by that amount!
 
Glad to hear all seems OK around the islands, only slight damage. 
 
Hogan of Grenada
- Feeling silly now
  • From: jacqueline dowden <jacquiedowden at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2007 19:44:05 +0000
OK I'm feeling silly now having read the message from Gert about the earthquake and Miss Mermaid's account.... note to self.... read messages first!!

I'm also feeling silly because my house guest (who used to live in California) calmly said "That's nothing".... I bet it wasn't nothing for those closer.


Jacquie
x

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- Who Felt the Earth Move?
  • From: jacqueline dowden <jacquiedowden at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2007 19:26:45 +0000
So where was the Earthquake?  This was a first for me, feeling the whole house move..... apart from that the day has been glorious here.  I think a nice cooling late afternoon swim is in order.

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- Three days of overcast and a lot of rain.
  • From: "Wild in Grenada" <email at wildingrenada.com>
  • Date: Sat, 13 Oct 2007 20:33:27 -0400
Today has been fine, a stiff breeze, sunshine and no rain.  But the three previous days Gave us lots of rain. Enough to fill, and a lot more,  the water tank.
 
I was interested to hear just how much rain we had, but I believe Mark had some problems with his rain gauge, so we will never know!
 
All now very quiet, lets hope it stays that way.
 
Hogan of Grenada
 
- At last the rainy season hits Grenada.
  • From: "Wild in Grenada" <chris at wildingrenada.com>
  • Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2007 07:14:15 -0400
Thanks Mark, for the rain figures yesterday. 2.5 inches. Well the rain eased off by mid morning, just leaving a high overcast sky, most of the day.
 
But early this morning the rain came, at first in waves, but now it is continuous. At long last, looking at the satelite pictures, Grenada is no longer in a rain/cloud void. In fact it is difficult to find us under the pretty colours. We won't have to water the plants for at least a few days now.
 
Mark, maybe you can give us the figures for today, if the rain stops long enough for you to check it?
 
Hogan
- Tropical Wave Passing
  • From: "Mark and Jill" <email at grenadavilla.co.uk>
  • Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2007 06:28:36 -0400
Last night the latest tropical wave brought fantastic lightning shows and 2.5" rain so far to Grenada, and this morning it's still raining. Certainly a welcome change after the very dry period we have had recently.
 
Today is a sit at home with a warm cup of tea kind of day.
 
Mark ( www.grenadavilla.co.uk the place to find a great place to stay in Grenada )
- Where have all the Flowers gone or Feed Me!!
  • From: jacqueline dowden <jacquiedowden at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Sat, 6 Oct 2007 19:48:22 +0000
Well we do still have flowers but they are screaming for water.....So sorry Hogan I would share if I could.  This is more like dry season with the rain waking me this morning (it must have been singing happy birthday) but you would never guess we had had rain now.  So pleased we didn't plant cabbage this year.

With the relative inactivity of storms it is easy to get complacent and as Gert said we have a while to go yet.... talk about wishing your life away and with another birthday under my belt I realise how quickly time goes by.  So extra supplies are still there, candles etc at the ready but I so hope they will still be there at Christmas.

Jacquie.

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- What's That!?
  • From: "Wild in Grenada" <chris at wildingrenada.com>
  • Date: Sat, 6 Oct 2007 11:58:05 -0400
'Whats That'!?
 
That is what my wife said as we were woken up abruptly, in the middle of the night. There was this strange loud noise on the roof. It was rain, very heavy rain. And it lasted for several minutes. My immediate thought was - ah we don't have to water the plants today.
 
This morning the outside tiles are dry, but the ground is still wet, and the air smells somewhat fresher. Looking out at our almost 360 degree view, I see probably more fluffy clouds than I have for quite a while, but no sign of any more showers. I do hope we get some more! 
 
91L predictions are for it to go North and miss the islands. The experts have been pretty acurate, this year. Lets hope they are correct this time. I would ask for some rain from it, but I guess if we get any, it will fall on poor old Dominica again, and bot down here.
 
Hogan
 
 
- It just goes to show.
  • From: "Wild in Grenada" <chris at wildingrenada.com>
  • Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2007 11:22:34 -0400
Jacquie, says she had some nice rain today. This is the localised weather in Grenada again. Here in Westerhall area, we have had none to talk about since my last post saying the weather had changed and that was over a week ago. We are so dry here in the south it is unbelievable.
 
Can we have some of your water for our plants, Jacquie?
 
Hogan
- The Plants smiled today
  • From: jacqueline dowden <jacquiedowden at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2007 12:53:52 +0000
A nice amount of rain this morning so the plants are looking happier, the air is fresher with a nice breeze and now the sun is shining and the sky is blue.  All is well with the world.

Jacquie

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- Rain at last. Karen and new 99L
  • From: "Wild in Grenada" <chris at wildingrenada.com>
  • Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007 07:32:23 -0400
Good morning all.
 
Yesterday the weather was how I would expect it at this time of year. From our vantage point, we could see many showers in all directions. We also received a few ourselves. Nice to hear the rain on the roof again. It will take a lot to fill the tank though.
 
Today - I can see one shower that appears to be coming in our direction, and the sky looks promising for another Caribbean wet season day - Sun & Showers. That would be nice. Unfortunately the breeze has dropped somewhat.
 
I see that the African Wave has now been designated as disturbance 99L and it appears to have a spin. It is at 14N 25.5W on the last satellite picture from http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/tc_pages/tc_home.html . I will be keeping an eye on this one.
 
Karen took (or was adjusted) a turn WSW overnight. This didn't look good on the graph I do, but all the predictions are still for it to go N. of the islands, and to weeken for the next couple of days. Before the adjustment it was following the course of Frances 2004, now it has dropped below it.  It is  about 60 Nautical Miles north of the track of Dean at this Longitude. Lets hope the experts are correct in their predictions. 
 
Since I started this post the shower that was heading our way is getting closer. Hope we get it.
 
Hogan
 
 
- Rain, rain
  • From: "sara davies" <saramyfanwy0 at gmail.com>
  • Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2007 19:20:07 -0300
Rain, rain, wonderful rain, we have it in plenty today, it is so much cooler, have been walking in it and dancing in it.  After such a fabulous moon last night, it was a perfect day, we need it for the crops and for my sanity, it was tooooooooooooo hot. 
 
- Back to normal?
  • From: "Wild in Grenada" <chris at wildingrenada.com>
  • Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2007 21:04:24 -0400
Good evening all,
 
Briefly, The weather here is back to what seems like normal.A breeze, towering clouds, some rain playing with the island (not much) and the odd rumble of thunder. This evening brought the sight of lighning and distant rumbles of thunder.
 
There was a brief display, this evening, of what I call 'light house lightning', it appears to come from what seems to be a relatively small cloud and, for a while, seems to flash regularly and frequently and always in the same spot, but never to the ground. The actual lightning is never visible just part of the cloud lights up. I have seen this happen on a few occasions since I have been in Grenada, but have never seen it in the UK. I am assuming it occurs in the thin tall clouds.
 
I would be interested in anyones explanation.
 
But for now my eyes are looking East.
 
Keep safe.
 
Hogan
 
 
 
- No wind
  • From: "John Burnie" <john at yachtindaba.com>
  • Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007 21:12:41 -0400

Here is a picture of the wind in Grenada

 

With Kind Regards

 

JOHN BURNIE

 

- Looks like the rain has passed us by again.
  • From: "Wild in Grenada" <chris at wildingrenada.com>
  • Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007 17:56:59 -0400
With 97L travelling north and giving more rain to Martinique and islands nearby, here in Grenada, nothing, not a hint of rain. Not a hint of wind. I have seen the sea here calm before, but I don't think I have seen it quite this calm. It is still hazy though. and the calm sea just blends in with the hazy sky, quite weird. Tried to take a photo, but there is nothing to see really.
 
My wife is out watering plants. All the cuttings that we took a few weeks ago, that were shooting, have now died.
 
We can't water everything!
 
Just hoping the tail of 97L gives us some rain.
 
Hogan
 
- Hazy and sunny.
  • From: "Wild in Grenada" <chris at wildingrenada.com>
  • Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007 07:45:08 -0400
Monday morning:  There is a hazy sun and no breeze. The sky is a hazy blue. There are very few low clouds visible, but due to the haze I can't see very far. There is no horizon, Point Saline airport give visibility to be greater than 7 miles (I would say not much greater).
 
We now wait to see what, if anything, 97L brings - later today. It seems to have slowed a little. All the paths show it going north of Grenada. It doesn't look very organised, but hopefully we might get some rain.
 
Hogan of Grenada  
- 96L compared to Ivan.
  • From: "Wild in Grenada" <chris at wildingrenada.com>
  • Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2007 13:13:51 -0400
All,
 
I hadn't noticed 96L when I sent the previous posts, here are a few facts and figures.
 
96L is currently at just above 6 degrees N. This is 3 degress below where Ivan started. Thats about 180 Nautical Miles. Ivan started at 9.7N 27.6W as a Tropical Depression. It dropped to 8.9N at it's lowest, that was when it reached about 37W. I have looked back over the last ten years and there are no Atlantic named storms starting this near the equator. In fact no where near it. If this develops it is in new territory. Global Warming?
 
Isadore 1996 Sept 23rd, started at 8.6. And went safely N. see:
 
As for Grenada this afternoon. Yes it is hot, hardly any breeze. The only difference is we can't see the horizon today. It is very hazy. Humidity is not particularly high (about 64). There are a few clouds above the hills, but not enough for rain. But I sense a change. We  (our gardens) need rain. 
 
Hogan 
 
 
 
 
- 97L - I forgot to mention!
  • From: "Wild in Grenada" <chris at wildingrenada.com>
  • Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2007 07:13:03 -0400
Sorry, I forgot to say in my previous post.
 
All of the predictions for 97L show it going further North. Currently most show it going towards St Lucia, Martinique area. But Ivan and I beleive Emily were given tracks further North than the ones they finally followed.
 
I hope for Martinique, ST Lucia, and Dominica, they don't get any more bad weather.
 
Hogan
- 97L 600 miles to the East.
  • From: "Wild in Grenada" <chris at wildingrenada.com>
  • Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2007 06:56:07 -0400
Good morning,
 
Grenada starts the day with hardly a cloud in the sky. Yesterday there was a brief shower early morning, but it didn't even wet the ground here in Westerhall.
 
Today looks like another hot,dry day.
 
But I see we have a disturbance, 97L , about 600 miles east of us. It is developing from one of the waves that has been moving westward across the Atlantic for the last week. It is currently where Ivan was 30 hours before hitting Grenada, it was a Cat 2 at this point, and Emily was 36 hours before coming through Grenada it was a tropical storm at this point.  Earl (2004) became a tropical storm almost at this spot, but fortunately never developed past TS status, it went through Grenada about 24 hours later and then fizzled out.
 
So based on the above and with no expertise whatsoever, it looks like we could have a spot of weather within the next couple of days. Hopefully just some rain. 
 
So my eyes are looking East.
 
All the best
 
Hogan of Grenada 
- Same old story
  • From: "Wild in Grenada" <chris at wildingrenada.com>
  • Date: Fri, 21 Sep 2007 22:15:04 -0400
Hi all, I am struggling to find a weather related topic, it is Hot, but at least there is a breeze now.
 
Today we had part of our roof removed, not by a hurricane, but by roofers, because the original building contractor (who was sacked for other reasons) didn't strengthen it enough!  It has cost us to strengthen it, but I now feel happier.
 
Ivan removed some of the roof, which brought to life  that the perlins (hope that is the spelling), things that hold the roof material on, were 30 inches apart rather than the recomended 24 inches. Having taken another section off that has been rattling since Ivan, we found it was 36!!!! inches between perlins, instead of 24 inches, recommended by the roofer! 
 
I am only saying this, on this web site to warn people building in the Caribbean, to check on the recommendations on house construction. We can't guarantee that you won't get damage in a  Cat 4/5 like Ivan, but do your best to make it as strong as possible. We were novices here, and believed we had a good builder. WE didn't! So, look up the regulations on the internet and don't be frightend to question your builder.
 
By the way, I was helping on the roof, today and it was hot, despite the breeze. And fortunately there was no rain, but that is not a surprise in Grenada at the moment  - although there was a swift shower in Grande Anse yesterday afternoon.
 
We had a pleasant evening, BBQ at Aubreys, pleasant company. Must do this more Fridays!
 
Not much else to say about the weather really, other than 'what rainy season'? Keep counting down the days in September.
 
All the best,
 
From Hogan who feels happier about his roof today!
 
 
 
 
- In the Still of the Night
  • From: jacqueline dowden <jacquiedowden at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2007 11:40:40 +0000
No gusts now..... not a breathe of breeze, nothing stirring and as others have said so, so hot.  The garden is beginning to look like it does in the dry season; plant wilting from lack of water, crying.... feed me, feed me.  I sound as though I am never happy with the weather; either too windy or not windy enough but a nice gentle trade wind would be lovely right now.
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- Spice isle hot!
  • From: "sara davies" <saramyfanwy0 at gmail.com>
  • Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2007 19:00:21 -0300
It is so HOT here in Grenada, I went up country yesterday and everyone talking about the heat and how its not usually like this in September. 
We are having the most gorgeous sunsets, sun red, red, red, sinking into the sea every night a good sign according to folklore. 
Fluffy pink clouds floating on the horizon as the sun goes down over St George harbour, music plays in the market, we are enjoying. 
 
- What a day, and evening.
  • From: "Wild in Grenada" <chris at wildingrenada.com>
  • Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2007 22:39:58 -0400
Well the day continued as it began. Virtually cloudless, no wind, and definitely no rain.
 
Here are 4 photos I took today. Look at those skies.
 
Still calm as I go to bed.
 
Keep save up north!
 
Hogan

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- Hot, No breeze, No rain.
  • From: <gommier at gmail.com>
  • Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2007 11:13:02 -0400
Good morning all,
 
Having seen the post from Jacquie, I have to be careful to say that my weather reports are from the south coast of Grenada, which does have a different localized climate from other areas of Grenada. The trade winds (when they are blowing) have no large mountains to hit before us, therefore we tend to get less rain, less clouds, but generally we get a stiff breeze. My guess is that the gusty winds they were experiencing, in Mount Morris,  about the time of my report is more an affect of the mountains, being Mt Morris is in the shade of some very high hills, just in from the west coast, a couple of miles North of St Georges.
 
Back to today, and as per the subject, It is hot, there is virtually no breeze, and we have had little rain for probably about a week now. I am talking about the south coast, as we did hear some thunder in the mountains during the week, so I wouldn't be surprised if they had some rain there.
 
Most reports seem to show Ingrid fizzling out. I do hope so for all of those in the Northern isles and beyond.
 
But for now, just a little rain would do the plants very well indeed.
 
In the few minutes since I started this post, the breeze has picked up a little.
 
All the best.
 
Hogan  
- Update
  • From: "sara davies" <saramyfanwy0 at gmail.com>
  • Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2007 12:56:07 -0300
Hot and gusty in Grenada this morning, went to Carriacou for 2 days, the sea was so.o.o.o rough, worst crossing Ive ever done.  Looks like Ingrid is going North, smiles for us.  Nice to have the breeze badk in Grenada, these systems seem to suck it all up when they're building.  We are relaxing again for the time being.........
- Pleasant breeze???
  • From: "jacqueline dowden" <jacquiedowden at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2007 13:08:31 +0000
Not sure about the pleasant breeze Hogan, up here in Mt. Moritz it is gusting big enough to have my dogs running for cover... then it dies to almost nothing and up it comes again. It is still hazy with no clear horizon and a few white clouds but a lot brighter than yesterday. It was a very windy night last night and seems to be continuing today, although a lot of trees are growing up again we lost a great many up here (from Ivan) that formed a windbreak for us. Mostly the breeze is welcome but these gusts always make me and of course the dogs, nervous particularly at this time of year. 

Roll on Christmas......

Jacquie

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- 91L now North of the path of Dean.
  • From: "Wild in Grenada" <chris at wildingrenada.com>
  • Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2007 07:25:56 -0400
Good morning,
 
Grenada this morning is very pleasant, but hazy. There is no clear horizon. A pleasant breeze. The satelite picture of this area shows no areas of heavy cloud nearby, maybe we will have a good day. Yesterday was dull and overcast, but very little rain, more like a miserable November day in the UK (except for the temperature).
 
Looking at the various reports it seems that 91L has now moved north of where Dean was at this longitude. Also by now Dean was already a tropical storm.
Yesterday I was wishing it would go more north, as was predicted, it seems to be following my wish (and I am sure many others). I wanted it go up in the Atlantic away from us in the Caribbean. Sorry Bermuda, I forgot the small dot in the middle of the Atlantic. There is plenty of ocean up your way for it to get lost in though.
 
All the best to you all.
 
Hogan of Grenada 

 
- after Gabrielle comes........
  • From: "sara davies" <saramyfanwy0 at gmail.com>
  • Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2007 17:11:50 -0300
People are biting their nails again in Grenada, we are extremely hot and overcast and being warned that there is another system building up in the Atlantic about 900 miles out.  "This time I will be prepared" is on everyone's lips.  We were extremely prepared for Felix and we hope that this one will again be a false alarm for us, I dont think we could cope with the aftermath of Ivan again.  The roofs that were damaged in Ivan havent been all repaired yet let alone the roofs from Felix so we continue to keep a weather eye out. 
- Strange weather yesterday evening!
  • From: "Wild in Grenada" <chris at wildingrenada.com>
  • Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2007 07:08:16 -0400
Good morning from a completely overcast Grenada. Breezy but generally no rain. The current saterlite pictures show us under a blob similar to Dominica yesterday, but the conditions are completely different (so far).
 
Yesterday afternoon was strange, we were just finishing some cement rendering on an ouside wall, when we noticed some huge towering clouds coming in from the SE. The cloud tops were beaufifully white, but underneath was black. The horizon disappeared. We decided to cover the wall as the rendering was still 'green'. The clouds arrived, but there was only a very small amount of fine rain (although some areas nearby had a heavier short lived burst). The strange thing was the drop in temperature. from 86F (30C) to 77F (25C) in a very short time, it felt cold, also a strong wind picked up. I noticed that Point Saline airport registered wind speed 17 MPH with a gust of 52 MPH!!!!  Not sure that was accurate, but the sea was really chopped up.   By 9PM the temperature had risen to 82F(28C).
 
Watching 91L, we don't want it, but we don't wish any more storms on anyone else either. 91L GO NORTH, VERY NORTH, up into the Atlantic, where most storms used to go before Ivan*. There are no big gaps between the islands, well not big enough for a hurricane to slip through without causing damage, as we saw with Dean. When it gets through it is trapped and, unless it fizzles out, it is going to get someone.
 
* If you want to see the paths of old hurricanes, see: http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/atlantic/2005/index.html
Just change the year in the web address for other years. If 91L wants to do anything, then it should learn from Nicholas 2003.
 
Enough gibberish from me for today.
 
All the best to you all,
 
Hogan of Grenada
 
- Ivan, Emily, Felix : 91L
  • From: "Wild in Grenada" <chris at wildingrenada.com>
  • Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2007 07:25:15 -0400
All,
 
As 'StormTracker' suggested, I have checked out 91L, And I have found that 91L is in the corridor of Ivan, Emily and Felix. 91L is about 30 miles North of where Ivan was at this point in the Atlantic. It is about 120 miles South of where Dean was. Ivan was a 997Mb tropical storm by this time, and 91L is still 1010Mb. But Ivan soared to Cat 4 in just 2 days from this point, it then dropped in power before picking up again, before hitting Grenada.
 
It hasn't yet reached where Felix and Emily became Tropical Depression, but is exactly on course. One of the experts said yesterday, that it might be pulled North by a depression in the N. Atlantic, well there is no sign of that happening, yet. 91L appears to be following the new trend of just ploughing west.
 
I am just going to double check supplies!
 
I am waiting to hear from the experts what they feel will happen?
 
Apart from that, it is a beautiful morning here in Grenada, but not sufficient breeze. I think it is going to be hot!
 
All the best.
 
Hogan of Grenada
 
 
- 91L at 10N & 36W
  • From: "storm tracker" <grenadatracker at gmail.com>
  • Date: Sun, 9 Sep 2007 23:13:58 -0400
Dear friends,
 
Check out that wave in the mid-atlantic.....dropping central pressure, moist air, warm water, favourable upper level winds, and some beefy looking rotation on the satellite.
 
 
 
- FW: Hurricane Hunter flies into FELIX
  • From: "John Burnie" <john at yachtindaba.com>
  • Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2007 10:27:18 -0400

On this link there is a 7 min video of hurricane hunter C130 flying into the eye of FELIX at 2.00 am on Sept 3rd . This was the mission that flew immediately after the abandoned N42RF flight where the aircraft encountered severe turbulence. My admiration for the crew who fly these aircraft on these missions is huge. 5 hurricane hunter aircraft have been lost on such missions and Dr Jeff Masters (Weather Underground) nearly lost his life in HUGO when the aircraft they were flying in was damaged and lost one engine traversing the eye. In this video the shots of the moon in the eye are quite amazing!! Here is the link.

http://www.airshowbuzz.com/videos/view.php?v=9f061057

 

 

With Kind Regards

 

JOHN BURNIE

General Manager

--------------------------

NAUTOR'S SWAN CARIBBEAN s.a.r.l.

79 Residence Pieds Dans L'Eau

Marina Bas-du-Fort

97110 Pointe a Pitre

GUADELOUPE

French West Indies

 

Tel  + 590 (0) 590 93 33 12

Fax + 590 (0) 590 93 63 30

Mob + 590 (0) 690 72 30 28

 

www.nautorgroup.com

www.nautorswancharter.com

 

 

 

 

- Penny's comment on CNN abuse.
  • From: "Wild in Grenada" <chris at wildingrenada.com>
  • Date: Wed, 5 Sep 2007 06:41:09 -0400
I have read Penny's comments on CNN abuse, and emailed CNN.
 
Three years ago we had Ivan, which did destroy Grenada. I was in the UK when it struck, so was obviously glued to the news programs. I heard about the destruction, yet the images that were transmitted were from a car driving around the Lagoon and Grand Anse road. What they showed were the old wreck of a ship - which had half sunk in the harbour years ago. The remains of the old hotel on the hill over looking the bay - This had been derelict for years (I believe it had been bombed by the Americans during the time of the coup). And a house along Grand Anse that had appeared in a state of severe decay for years. Most people watching would have thought the damage to all three was due to Ivan, most of it wasn't.
 
About 2 years later, a travel statement made by the US said (I can't remember the exact figure) that Grenada was stilll 90% destroyed. This was very much not the case, from a tourist point of view. By that time most hotels were up and running and most houses were looking fine. There were still large numbers of people who had lost their home and many of the crops will take years to come back. But this would not have affected the tourists, which the country needed badly. So Media and governments should be very careful what they say.
 
For  new tourists coming to Grenada now, they would not know there had been a huricane (sorry two) pass through unless the damage was pointed out to them. 
 
I have requested CNN put out a correction to their statement.
 
For interest, this web site does a lot of good, tomorrow a couple are coming from the UK to Grenada to go diving. They found this website and sent emails to some of us asking what the weather was really like in the Caribbean at this time of the year. I told them and they are coming. I wish them some good diving in Carriacou.
 
Hogan of Grenada
 
  
- Vessels at Sea in FELIX
  • From: "John Burnie" <john at yachtindaba.com>
  • Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2007 17:58:36 -0400

I share my shock and dismay to hear that there were (and probably still are) vessels and souls in distress who were still at sea during in the areas where FELIX made landfall – a terrible thing for all those concerned – those of us who choose to live on boats (but for luck and the grace of god) it could have been any one of us making the distress calls.

Here is a picture of peaceful Grenada and peaceful True Blue Bay today and as we generally know it – may it always remain so.

   

 

With Kind Regards

 

JOHN BURNIE

 

 

 

- Thanks for the report from Honduras
  • From: "Wild in Grenada" <chris at wildingrenada.com>
  • Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2007 06:51:35 -0400
CC. to Penny,
 
Penny Leigh, Thank you for that detailed pre-huricane report. You must have been shut up in your shop with nothing left to do. All I can say is I hope you come through this OK. We look forward to hearing from you when it has passed.  All the very best wishes from Grenada.
 
Here in Grenada, very calm, the trade winds have gone again. A clear sunset last nght and a pleasant sunrise this morning. 98L seems to have dispersed. What ever it was in the Atlantic that gobbled up 98L, I hope it stays there for the rest of the season.Another few days of calm weather ahead, each one nibbling away into the H. season, but still a long way to go! Strange how we wish a good part of the year away!
 
The 3 trees,  which had fallen over in TS Felix,  I have managed to strap back almost vertical. Two of them were bought by friends/visitors as gifts, the other was an Almond tree that gives good shade. I guess they will need strapping for a couple of years to get their roots strong again.  Grenlec have replace the broken meter. I chopped down some other fallen trees, making way for more fruit trees. So we are now fine.
 
Our thoughts are with all in the path of Felix. We wish you all the best.
 
Hogan of Grenada
 
 
 
 
- Stay Safe
  • From: "jacqueline dowden" <jacquiedowden at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Mon, 03 Sep 2007 14:18:48 +0000
My heart goes out to all those in the path of this monster, you are all in my thoughts and I'm sure in the thoughts of the entire Caribbean..... stay safe and may your God be with you. 

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- Boat Rescue
  • From: "storm tracker" <grenadatracker at gmail.com>
  • Date: Sat, 1 Sep 2007 23:58:35 -0400

On behalf of Mark and Chris (my partner) I wanted to post a thank you to John for assisting with the boat rescue at True Blue this morning! Chris was full of stories when he returned home around mid-day. It was a treat to come and check our virtual hurricane neighbourhood and see the photographs of his stories posted there! One for the album....that's for sure.

Other Felix related comments stem from observing the incredible vulnerability of storms that can strengthen with people underneath them. We've been lucky so far (this season, as I have vivid memories of Emily in Carriacou). Once the power is out, and the radio stations are down, it's hard to know what is going on: Is it a storm, a hurricane, where is it passing, has the eye gone by, how much longer will it take...etc.  These are questions everyone wants to know, and when our power went out I was dutifully listening to the only radio station I could find.....and there wasn't any mention of weather on it.

The Cable and Wireless NaDMA alerts on the cell phones were very well deployed, and I heard a lot of comments from people today remarking on how useful they were, and how impressed they were about how quickly NaDMA jumped into action. I think it'd be great to get those cell phone updates more often, with information about wind speed, location, and central pressure.

After dodging the Felix bullet we look East to the 1009mb low, which may be high for Grenada's interest just now, but only time will tell us if this new system decides to travel the ITCZ or go it on it's own along the 1016 ridge.

Jen


- HURRICANE FELIX
  • From: "John Burnie" <john at yachtindaba.com>
  • Date: Sat, 1 Sep 2007 20:05:07 -0400

TS FELIX has just been upgraded to Hurricane FELIX by NOAA – I post the advisory 5A in full.

 

000
WTNT31 KNHC 012344
TCPAT1
BULLETIN
HURRICANE FELIX INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY NUMBER   5A
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL   AL062007
800 PM AST SAT SEP 01 2007
 
...FELIX BECOMES A HURRICANE...NEW WATCH FOR JAMAICA...
 
AT 8 PM AST...0000 UTC...THE GOVERNMENT OF JAMAICA HAS ISSUED A
TROPICAL STORM WATCH FOR JAMAICA.  A TROPICAL STORM WATCH MEANS
THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH
AREA...GENERALLY WITHIN 36 HOURS.
 
A TROPICAL STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE ISLANDS OF
ARUBA...BONAIRE AND CURACAO.  A TROPICAL STORM WARNING MEANS THAT
TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED WITHIN THE WARNING AREA
WITHIN THE NEXT 24 HOURS.
 
INTERESTS ELSEWHERE IN THE CENTRAL AND WESTERN CARIBBEAN SEA SHOULD
CLOSELY MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF THIS SYSTEM.
 
FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...INCLUDING POSSIBLE
INLAND WATCHES AND WARNINGS...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED
BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE.
 
AT 800 PM AST...0000Z...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE FELIX WAS
LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 12.6 NORTH...LONGITUDE 66.0 WEST OR ABOUT
155 MILES...250 KM EAST-NORTHEAST OF BONAIRE AND ABOUT
270 MILES...435 KM...EAST OF ARUBA.
 
FELIX IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST NEAR 18 MPH...30 KM/HR...AND THIS
GENERAL MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS.
ON THIS TRACK...FELIX WILL BE PASSING NEAR OR TO THE NORTH OF THE
ISLANDS OF ARUBA...BONAIRE AND CURACAO LATE TONIGHT OR EARLY SUNDAY
MORNING.
 
REPORTS FROM A NOAA HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT INDICATE THAT MAXIMUM
SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 75 MPH...120 KM/HR...WITH
HIGHER GUSTS.  THIS MAKES FELIX A CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE ON THE
SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE SCALE.  ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING IS
EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS.
 
DATA FROM THE STEPPED FREQUENCY MICROWAVE RADIOMETER ON BOARD THE
HURRICANE HUNTER INDICATE THAT HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD
UP TO 15 MILES...25 KM...FROM THE CENTER AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE
WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 140 MILES...220 KM...PRIMARILY TO THE
NORTH OF THE CENTER.
 
THE LATEST MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE REPORTED BY THE HURRICANE HUNTER
IS 993 MB...29.32 INCHES.
 
RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE OVER THE OFFSHORE
ISLANDS OF VENEZUELA AND THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES ISLANDS OF
ARUBA...BONAIRE AND CURACAO.
 
REPEATING THE 800 PM AST POSITION...12.6 N...66.0 W.  MOVEMENT
TOWARD...WEST NEAR 18 MPH.  MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...70 MPH.
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...999 MB.
 
THE NEXT ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL
HURRICANE CENTER AT 1100 PM AST.
 
$$
FORECASTER BEVEN

 

 

With Kind Regards

 

JOHN BURNIE

General Manager

--------------------------

NAUTOR'S SWAN CARIBBEAN s.a.r.l.

79 Residence Pieds Dans L'Eau

Marina Bas-du-Fort

97110 Pointe a Pitre

GUADELOUPE

French West Indies

 

- Felix damage.
  • From: "Wild in Grenada" <chris at wildingrenada.com>
  • Date: Sat, 1 Sep 2007 15:08:50 -0400
We have :
 
At least 3 of our trees (non fruiting) are at most perculiar angles. Many limes have been removed from our lime trees. Funnily our banana plants seem to survive!
 
One electricty meter, glass cover smashed. Now covered with plastic shopping bags.  I guess repairing my meter is low priority for Grenlec. I have power so that is all that matters.
 
Power returned at some point about midday, not sure when as I was running off generator.
 
Damage elsewhere seem mild, a couple of telephone cables across the road and a few rock falls.
 
All the inlets on the South Coast are brown from run off. Interesting to see that water running off from areas of vegetation appears clear, water coming off where there is construction taking place is brown. It looks like the damage being done to the reefs from dirty run off is mostly man made! See photos attached.
 
Hogan
 
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- Yacht rescue TS FELIX True Blue Bay
  • From: "John Burnie" <john at yachtindaba.com>
  • Date: Sat, 1 Sep 2007 13:37:14 -0400

I note on the camera that my partner Ann Louise did in fact get a couple of shots of me in our RIB tender as we pulled a 45 ft yacht off the pontoon at True Blue Bay during TS FELIX early this morning. The yacht had broken free of its hurricane mooring and came to rest hard up against the floating pontoon – in some of the swells and gusts we were getting it is slightly amazing that the yacht did not get badly damaged. I did however manage at one stage to completely fill my RIB with a wave giving Dwayne a pretty decent pool to swim in!!

 

 

With Kind Regards

 

JOHN BURNIE

General Manager

--------------------------

NAUTOR'S SWAN CARIBBEAN s.a.r.l.

79 Residence Pieds Dans L'Eau

Marina Bas-du-Fort

97110 Pointe a Pitre

GUADELOUPE

French West Indies

 

 

 

- Grenada (fwd)
  • From: Gert van Dijken <gert at vandijken.com>
  • Date: Sat, 1 Sep 2007 13:13:44 -0400 (EDT)
A report received earlier this morning:

*
**
*** Gert van Dijken ( gert at vandijken.com )
**** Caribbean Hurricane Network - http://stormcarib.com


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 01 Sep 2007 05:54:40 -0500
From: Nelson-Buckmire Beverly <spisy at hotmail.com>
Subject: Grenada


Dear Gert,

Saturday, September 1, 2007 at 6:50am, St. George - Greada: On the
western side of the island; we are experiencing lots of heavy rain. Wind
gusts estimated to be about 35- 45 miles per hour. Lots of branches are
off trees; loss my pawpaw tree, fully laden. The river is pounding;
evening th little ravine next side the road.

This is a storm; but it feels like a category one hurricane.


Beverly Nelson-Buckmire
- John from the USA meets FELIX
  • From: "John Burnie" <john at yachtindaba.com>
  • Date: Sat, 1 Sep 2007 12:00:24 -0400

Spare a though for unlucky JOHN on holiday here in Grenada, over from the USA with his wife. He is hunkered down on this yacht here riding out the aftermath of TS FELIX in True Blue Bay, GRENADA. He had a horrible night where his canvas biminis had to all come down in big winds and rain and then his foresail started to unravel in 50 kts this morning. I have been over to see him a couple of times in my dinghy and although he