- Updates from the Islands -

- - Bermuda - -

- - - 2011 Hurricane Season - - -

- Tropical Storm Sean

By Keith / bdaweather <bdaweather at yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:52:36 -0800 (PST)

Hello from Bermuda. November 10th 20:45 AST.

Can't believe we are discussing a Tropical Storm in this part of the Atlantic almost mid November.

We are under a tropical storm warning this evening as Tropical Storm Sean approaches from the west south west. Sean is suppose to pass around 100 miles north west early Friday morning. We are expecting winds gusting to possible 60 mph especially in the marine area. Looks like the outer bands of Sean is now becoming visible on the local radar. NHC are saying he has been moving ENE in which case if continued he may be closer but he is supposed to move more north east in a few hours.

Windy day here today but a mostly sunny day with only one squall with very heavy rain for a few minutes at midday other then that its been a rather dry (except for the 80% humidity) and clear day very windy of course.

Well thats it Sean not much of a inconvenience so far, we will see how the next 12 hours pan out.

Best wishes long holiday weekend here.

Keith

- Tropical Storm Sean

By Keith / bdaweather <bdaweather at yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 8 Nov 2011 14:22:37 -0800 (PST)

November 8th 2011 18:00 AST

Once again Bermuda is under a Tropical Storm Watch I think its the 14th time this hurricane season 18 named storms this year and 14 have affected Bermuda in their passing, thank goodness only with rough seas and minimal winds..

Hello everyone and welcome to a Bermuda tropical update again. We now have Tropical Storm Sean expected to pass less then 100 miles north on Friday morning. TS Sean although not named has been affecting us since midday Saturday as a large low pressure with gale winds firstly from the north to north east then east now will be south east. The south and east side of the island have been receiving winds up to gale force ongoing. The ocean has the appearance of the close proximity of a storm with large ocean swells etc. We are also experiencing extra high tides at this time of the year which has the ocean spraying across the low lying roads on the southern side of the island. This past Sunday the winds were the highest so far no damage except for some boats awash and minimal power outages it had the appearance of an early winter storm.

Marine areas on Thursday / Friday are predicted to have 55 knot winds. So it should not be problem just the nuisance of having the early part of a long holiday weekend disrupted with inclement weather. Friday November 11th Remembrance Day holiday here. Saturday looks to be a nice day with northerly wind as either Tropical or Sub Tropical Storm Sean gets going to the north east once and for all.

Best wishes to all

Keith.

- Bermuda and Ophelia 18:30 local

By Keith / bdaweather <bdaweather at yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 1 Oct 2011 14:49:01 -0700 (PDT)

Hello to everyone who may be wondering whats happening out here in Bermuda.

Its been a pretty normal Saturday hardly any sign of the passing of C3 Hurricane Ophelia the occasional shower no wind to speak of presently at our L F Wade Intl. airport wind is only 10 kts visibility 10 kilometers. Some gusts of wind in the rain showers and overcast for most of the day very little rain since midnight last evening I have only received 00.17 of an inch of rain. So other then some high swell on the south shore there is no other sign of the passing of Ophelia our 8th tropical system to pass close to Bermuda this hurricane season with mostly rough seas. The high tide this morning was well above normal I did notice that in my travels this morning. And off course the once a year surfers were on the south shore trying their hand at surfing in the unusual high surf. All of the commercial and private aircraft have been arriving and departing as per normal.

So with nothing else to report we will close this one down if Philippe goes as forecast he should not be a bother to us but I did see some sort of stall in the GFS computer run earlier which may have him back tracking later next week.

I have attached the visible satellite image courtesy Naval Research Lab very dramatic picture of Ophelia passing to our east, if this storm would have been 200 km closer we would be singing Ophelia your breaking my Heart for sure.

Thanks for your attention best wishes for the balance of this 2011 hurricane season.

Keith

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- ophelia

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 1 Oct 2011 17:23:38 -0300

5:20pm and nothing much to report (yet)... there is a pretty good swell going on the south shore and its cloudy with occasional drizzle. No real wind to speak of. As things progess here I will keep posting.

-sue

- Bda - Ophelia

By John Moore <jmoorebda at yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 1 Oct 2011 13:23:28 -0700 (PDT)

Hello, Gert,

at 17:12 Sat there's been a few squally showers this afternoon, wind right now is not significant (maybe 15kts). South shore has been rough most of the day.

Ophelia's rain bands and circulation are now clearly visible on radar (which extends to about 120mls).

Watching the Satellite, Ophelia seems to have made her NE turn a little earlier than expected(away from us), forecast calls for nothing more than steady 20-25kts later, maybe the odd gust over 40 - a gentle winter breeze!

Bermuda's had it's share of TS's and Hurricanes threatening this year, but all have stayed away just far enough. Looks like Ophelia will do the same.

Tomorrow we'll turn our attention to Phillipe.

John.

- Ophelia

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2011 11:11:07 -0300

Here we go again. Another close call coming our way. Seems to be a trend this year. Ophelia expected to be a cat 2 by the time she passes just over 100 miles to our east on Sat PM. I think we are already under a trop storm watch and expect the south shore to get pretty churned up again. Not too much anxiety over all as we have gone through this 3 or 4 times already this season to no ill effect. That being said it is always a good idea to keep any eye on the forecast to see if anything changes. A slight veering the west and we could be very very caught off guard at the last minute.

Will post pics of the south shore soon.

Sue

- Number 7 Ophelia

By Keith / bdaweather <bdaweather at yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 29 Sep 2011 17:22:28 -0700 (PDT)

Hello from Bermuda.

Number 7 yes thats the number of storms to pass by close to Bermuda this hurricane season we now have the 4th hurricane Ophelia so much for becoming a hurricane when approaching Bermuda she is a minimal C1 hurricane already and is expected to intensify even more.

Bermuda is now under a tropical storm watch as of this evening looking at the tracks it looks like Ophelia is supposed to pass around 100 miles east later on Saturday. But this track has been moving closer every day it started at around 140 miles, so as far as I am concerned its still not Gospel and it appears in 48 hours Ophelia is going to be stronger then anticipated but we are on the storms lower wind field side so its at this time only predicted to give us the tropical storm wind gusts.

Its expected the south coast ocean to start to take on the tropical storm appearance tomorrow.

So here we go again the 7th named storm to affect us this year I just hope Ophelia stays on the course predicted because I think folks are complacent now with all the close misses this season.

Thats it for now from here all is well except I assume some peoples sunny calm weekend may be disrupted again.

Keith

- New and Improved Ophelia

By Keith / bdaweather <bdaweather at yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2011 09:36:07 -0700 (PDT)

Good day and greetings from Bermuda. Wednesday 28th September 2011 13:30 local.

Well it looks like the new and improved Ophelia will as suspected over a week ago pass very close to Bermuda looks like sometime later Saturday. The computer forecasts have her to our east looks like under 100 miles except for the Canadian model which has Ophelia passing right over us around the same time frame. So far here not to much fuss as it looks right now we may just have strong winds and the showers and possible thunder on the weekend. Still uncertainty as its believed Ophelia will be a minimal hurricane when passing on Saturday and as they say just a little westward shift and we may be in the tropical or even higher wind zone. If this pans out as forecast now I would assume we will be under a tropical or even hurricane watch/warning by Friday AM.

I did observe some wind clouds last evening usually a beforehand sign of windier weather on the horizon. So we will see how things pan out in the next 36 hours as by that time Ophelia should be on the move again and only then will the track be more accurate.

Have a safe day and best wishes to all from Bermuda.

Keith

- Bermuda Storm Report.

By Keith / bdaweather <bdaweather at yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 21 Sep 2011 14:47:52 -0700 (PDT)

Hello once again from Bermuda.

Its beginning to look like I need to do a weekly storm report from Bermuda as its looking like we may be in for yet another close encounter with a tropical storm this season. For the past month almost every week we have had a tropical system pass by with at least some effect here thank heavens they have all been fairly weak and nothing major. If all these storms been major hurricanes it would be nothing left here.

Some facts here actually so far this year the hurricane count has been very much below average out of the 15 named storms so far there has only been 3 hurricanes the rest being tropical storms. Way below the 9 hurricanes predicted for this time of the year last year we had 7 hurricanes by the latter part of September. So with a little luck and continued prayers we may just get through the rest of 2011 below the average for major hurricanes. Out of the 15 named storms this year so far 6 have actually affected Bermuda in some way either with close passing or even forming on our doorstep as it was with TS Jose a few weeks ago. So far its been Cindy Emily Franklin Jose Katia Maria and now may even be Ophelia. So its been a pretty busy south/ north route through the Atlantic this year so far.

So here and now we have TS Ophelia the 15th named of the season on a similar track as the last two, just last week we had Maria which actually made it to minimal hurricane status passing Bermuda very little effect here even with her passing at just over 100 miles. Just the usual rough ocean and wind gusts to 40 knots for a few hours. No disruption of daily routine what so ever. So hopefully if Ophelia makes it this far she will be of similar nature. Looking at the computer forecasts for Ophelia she may not make it out of the Caribbean but I notice the track is moving more north so it looks like it won't be of a major impact to the northern Caribbean Islands as I said it appears very much the same route as Katia and Maria recently.

I have attached a beautiful Bermuda sunset which we took just this past Monday a little change form all the rough storm ocean pictures we have been sending almost every week. Its been really lovely weather lately occasional rain shower but today for instance humidity around 79% dry atmosphere making visibility excellent low 80s temperature even though Autumn begins Friday its still very much summer here, ocean temperature still at 82f.

Take care best wishes to all have a safe remainder of the 2011 hurricane season and make it through proving all the early forecasts wrong with only the 3 hurricanes on record for the rest of this year.

Keith

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- Maria in the morning...

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 15 Sep 2011 08:07:22 -0300

Woke up at 6am. Peeked outside and thought this isn't too bad. Left very early for work (with the zucchini bread) to avoid traffic. No one wants to be stuck on a scooter in bumper to bumper traffic during a storm. By the time I got to work the winds had picked up and the sky clouded over. Current winds at 27kts and increasing. I will be in a conference all day but will stick my head out during breaks to see whats up. No rain yet and most people going about their business.

- Hurricane Watch

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 14 Sep 2011 21:28:08 -0300

A hurricane watch has just been issued. It has just started raining again. Sea still seems fairly quiet and it doesn't seem very windy out there yet. I guess the morning will be a different story.

Zucchini bread was a success and my coworkers will be happy tomorrow to see me and my baked goods.

Should anything alarming wake me during the night (aside from husbands usual snoring racket) I will post.

-sue

- ......meh......

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 14 Sep 2011 19:16:43 -0300

Just sittin around making Zucchini bread and waiting for Maria to drop by. Currently cloudy with on and off showers but no real wind and the sea doesnt even seem very churned up. Will post later.

- Lunch Run

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2011 14:13:36 -0300

Went to lunch at 12 with a friend. It was sunny and warm. Stuffed myself silly with sushi. Rolled out of restaurant and found it pouring rain and windy. Had to run back to office to avoid getting drenched. Things should get progressively yuckier as Maria approaches. Im at my desk now trying to digest all that sushi. ..... what i really need is a nap.

- Bermuda and Maria's potential visit

By Keith / bdaweather <bdaweather at yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 12 Sep 2011 14:55:47 -0700 (PDT)

Hello from Bermuda Monday September 12th. 20:00 GMT 7 PM local

Its been an absolutely gorgeous day here today bit warm but lovely mostly blue sky with just a few clouds temperature been in the low 80s almost flat calm on the ocean. In our words its been a Bermudaful Day.

Well here we go again another week and another storm coming this way well predicted to come this way. They have nudged Maria's track a little east or closer during the day to day, but she does not look like any major threat at this time with us receiving tropical or storm force gusts looks like Thursday morning. The water temperature around here has decreased after Katias pass to our west last week a few hundred miles west of here the water temps are below 80f. Also the air is dry and clear at this time in the Bermuda area. So it remains to be seen whats really up with Maria at this time the reports are of under 200 miles west on Thursday maybe a bit closer now but with winds of tropical strength she should not affect us here to much. The southern coast of course will have the surge and rough waves and hopefully that will be it.

Just waiting to see her movements after being almost stationary all day to really determine how close and how strong she will be.

The ole computer models are still forecasting more tropical activity in the next few weeks.

Best wishes to all stay safe.

Keith.

- TS Maria

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2011 19:41:29 -0300

The seas and windy conditions have finally calmed down and things are pretty much settled back to normal here after our brief encounter with Katia. I wasnt very concerned about Maria until I read todays NHC discussion which calls for strengthening and of course the dreaded curve towards us after days 4/5. I will take the next few days to enjoy the calm before we gear up again for a potential ball buster.

As a native New Yorker I would be remiss if i didnt add:

9-11 NEVER FORGET!

-Sue

- Katia Pics- South Shore

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 6 Sep 2011 21:21:11 -0300

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- Bermuda Katia Update.

By Keith / bdaweather <bdaweather at yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 6 Sep 2011 15:00:03 -0700 (PDT)

Hello again from Bermuda.

Yes again I am writing to inform you that we have another active September here in the middle Atlantic this hurricane season. Firstly I better prepare Mrs Thomas because there is another storm down south which will be Maria she like Katia appears to be in this part of the world this time next week although Maria appears to be further south then Katia and actually threaten the islands in the north Caribbean before turning north. But again this is far off and lots could and will change by then.

We have Hurricane Katia proceeding to plan here by making a clockwise semi circle around Bermuda between now and later Thursday. Katia is so powerful we are as expected receiving heavy ocean surf etc on the South and South East coast. The roar of the ocean can be heard well inland. Today we have had a pretty good day mostly sunny and dry. I have only seen one squall early afternoon on the South Shore. Quite strong wind at that time on the south side. Tomorrow it may get worse as Katias CPA is late afternoon still predicted at 250 miles. I am curious to see what readings come back from the Atlantic weather buoy 41048 west of Bermuda tomorrow as C3 Katia nears it. I understand from NHC that another buoy south was sent adrift as it was less then 20 miles from Katia earlier today with a pressure in the low 28 inch range.

So other then the mighty ocean which makes a lovely sight to sit and watch. I guess the tourists here taking pictures will have a much different picture then what their camera would have seen last week. Much of the beach sand is washing out with the high tides but it quickly returns to normal after the ocean calms down.

Take care, storms are popping up all over the place. I feel after the next two weeks things should settle down, I think we must have passed our quota for this year with Maria on the radar thats 13 named already.

Keith

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- RED FLAG

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 6 Sep 2011 15:17:25 -0300

Red flags up at horseshoe. Do not go into the water... that means YOU crazy people. STAY OUT OF THE OCEAN.

- Trop Storm Watch - KATIA

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 6 Sep 2011 13:58:56 -0300

Tropical Storm Watch has just been issued but I think we are in the clear as long as no one does anything stupid on the water. Sunny, breezy and HUMID at the moment.

- Katia

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 6 Sep 2011 11:27:46 -0300

Im back on "the rock". Katia is stirring up the south shore and keeping things breezy. No real concern at this point as the models seem to be in agreement that she will pass to our west and then head out to our north. Will try to take pics tonight of the shouth shore. It should look wild :)

Sue

- All Fired Up!

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 1 Sep 2011 20:16:38 -0400

YEAHHHHHH ! The power is back on !!! it took 5 days. My father collected all his generators and then high-tailed it to the movies with my husband to watch some crap about the rise of the planet of the apes.... ......men.

Still no idea what will happen back home in Bermuda with Katia.

- dont blame me. I told ya so :)

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 1 Sep 2011 10:48:36 -0400

Still no power here on LI. Several poles and wires are still in the street. LIPA is doing their best but people are loosing their patience. Now ive noticed that people in general harbor hostility towards utlities. The rates are too high, the service is too low, they are monopolistic thieves, they are corrupt and tied up with politicians etc etc etc. One woman wrote on a message board that her pet lizard "was on his last leg if she didnt get light on him soon". Others whine about missing the latest episode of their favorite show. To all you whiners I say suck it up and I TOLD YOU SO ! In the islands we deal with this stuff all the time... most people drink till its over and just a bad memory... get on board folks.

The neighbors are going to stay on their boat for a few days so they are letting my dad use their generator (in additon to the one my dad already has pimped out to the neighbors). My dad now has generator envy... "You gotta see Waynes generator!!! You could light up the world trade site with this puppy!" Last night we all hung around in the driveway and let the mosquitos have their way with us while we watched with envy as the lights from the houses down the road shined like stars.... .... bunch of show offs.

and what the hell is katia doing anyway.... unwanted skanky pants. We fly back to Bda on sun evening.

- Still no power on North Shore of LI NY

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2011 09:17:12 -0400

Finally made it to Long Island NY. My husband had a panic attack the night before we left and i had to unpack all his stuff as he told me he couldnt fly or stay with the in-laws for a week with no power. Poor guy. I feel for him... really i do. I have had panic attacks and they are horrible... and I also know a week with my parents under even the best of circumstances could test the patience of a litany of saints. He calmed down and then i had to re-pack his stuff. My parents live within the 11780 zip code in a small town on the north shore. I am not surprised by the amount of damage. Lots of old trees down and we are STILL without power. We are still managing to have a nice time as most shops/restaurants (starbucks/cheesecake factory - GOD BLESS AMERICA!) are open and very happy to take my money. My father is keeping busy toting his generator from neighbor to neighbor keeping everyones freezers cold. I think he is kinda enjoying the whole thing. Today as he cooked bacon and eggs in a skillet on the bbq he kept saying "WOW! this is just like camping!" If this wasnt a wake up call for the NE i dont know what is. One good thing is the temperature is PERFECT. Very low humidity and sunny clear skies. In Bermuda after a hurricane it turns hot and nasty and everyone is grumpy, smelly and just generally pissed off.

Got my eye on Katia. Still early but some projected paths send shivers up my spine. Husband has very limited access to internet so he does not know katia might be welcoming us home next week but Im going to raise the HHI to five. He will be breathing into a paper bag for hours if the path remains on course for Bermuda.

- PICS FROM TODAY

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 28 Aug 2011 18:59:48 -0300

As promised attached are 2 pics of the south shore i took today. The sea was very churned up and loud. Things are quieting down this evening but reports say we are looking at a squally week and now Keith has me all hopped up about the next blob out there.

Husband doesnt want to go to LI on tues if my parents have no power. Rumour is LI could be without power for days. How much you want to bet we cancel our whole trip to NY and stay here and we get hit here at home in Bda. .............i better go knock on some wood. (and check de shark oil of course).

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- TS Jose / Bermuda

By Keith / bdaweather <bdaweather at yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 28 Aug 2011 10:55:59 -0700 (PDT)

Greetings everyone on the CHN from Bermuda.

I did not think that or was hoping that I would not have to do any tropical updates from Bermuda this season but it looks like late August September is going to be a busy month around 32/64. Yes we have Tropical Storm JOSE passing to our west with strong wind and shower squalls wind on the South Shore are in the 35 mph gust range with myself recording 20-25 mph inland. My barometer is not that low and is steady at 29.85 after falling slowly since 6 am. Its presently 14.45 here and we just had a squall go through with a heavy shower from the south to south west. Other then the south coast being rough and gusty wind all is well. I guess the wind this morning has caught a few off guard especially on the south side as this was not forecast yesterday just a small craft warning which most assumed was from a very distant Irene.

I have been telling folks here for the past 5 days that we may have our own mini storm on Sunday 28th as the Canadian weather computer has been showing a storm or tropical wave going over or close for today for a quite a few days now.

Nothing to much to worry for today with Jose but I do have concerns for 92 which will be Katia in a few days as its long range projection is in this general direction as a 28.69 inch barometer reading hurricane in 10 days, but this is way off in time so subject to many errors sure hope so. I don't want a repeat of Igor last year or another C3 Fabian.

I trust that the folks in the north western Caribbean especially the Bahamas Islands are getting things together after what looks like they got the worst of Irene even stronger then what has hit the east coast.

Best wishes for the balance of this 2011 hurricane season stay safe.

Keith

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- where'd you come from?

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 28 Aug 2011 13:03:25 -0300

Well... my Saturday flight to JFK was canceled. Had to rebook for Tues AM. I havent heard from my parents or sister since last night. Im sure their power is out and they are just waiting for LIPA to sort them (and 260,000 others out). Hopefully by the time we arrive on Tues everything will be up and running again.

Now... we woke up this AM and the wind has been BLOWING. Jose came out of no where. It is hot and sunny and windy. Weather.bm reporting wind is at 25knots. The seas looks fantastic and I will go take som pics to post later today. Jose better not interfere with my Tue flight. I will be VEXXXXX.

- do or ya dont will or ya wont

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2011 09:07:58 -0300

Well, as of this AM our flight is still supposed to be ok... but i will keep my eye on the AA site all day to see if they cancel it. Reports from back home on LI are that the home depot and Lowes stores are a zoo and people are preparing like crazy... then it just comes to a point when you have done all you can and you sit and wait.

I have a cousin in West Palm ... hes insane.... but we love him anyway. The other day he said something very wise, "Tis better to take half a tree to the curb today than a whole tree tomorrow."

Ill let you know what happens as the day progresses.

- NY Bound

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:59:28 -0300

Im headed to Long Island NY on Saturday AM. I will be reporting from the North shore there.... assuming our flight takes off.

HHI is teetering at about a 6... I'll be shocked if i get husband on this plane.

My mother has already made her preparations.... food, tarps, gas, ice, $. My gut tells me its gonna be ....B A D.

- Come on Irene... Im begging you please.

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:40:47 -0300

HHI has been elevated to at least a 4. Me, my husband and our 4 year old are scheduled to fly to NY once again to stay with my parents on LI this Sat AM for a late summer vacation. I just received a panicky phone call from my husband alerting me to Irenes potential path. He quickly informed me that he and my daughter would not be flying ANYWHERE if a storm was coming. I tried to calm him down... I told him it was far too early to tell what it was going to do.. It would downgrade as it moved North... etc etc. nothing worked. He reminded me of the museum exhibit we went to last year in NY which documented the last monster hurricane to hit LI in the 30s. He continued to comment that my parents house was creeky as it is and even my dad going up the stairs to go play with his models trains in his "Train Room" made the house shake.

As overly dramatic as he is being the East coast (especially North of NC) need to be prepared. Ive been saying it for years now. it isnt going to be pretty when they get hit and they arent used to the drill. Please people.... secure your property and for gods sake take down any old rotten trees looming over your house.

- Pfffffffft.

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2011 08:02:14 -0300

8am and not so much as a fart from Gert. NO wind, NO rain... not even a drizzle.

......... COFFEE!

sue

- Come Go Gert

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 14 Aug 2011 18:24:36 -0300

6:15pm and the sun is still shining, the wind is at a measly 6 kts and the sea is dead calm. You would NEVER know we were under a tropical storm warning. If i wasnt such a weather addict i would have no idea something was brewing.... Gert is expected to pass to Bermudas east early tomorrow. Just in time to snarl up a Monday morning commute into the "city". I was out and about all morning and I saw NO warning signs at any beaches or anything unusual. Will post again if anything starts to churn.

- Bad JuJu

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 12 Aug 2011 20:05:04 -0300

WOW! There is some seriously bad juju floating around the Atlantic right now. I dont like the models for Invests 92 & 94. While still early and subject to massive change I am raising the HHI to 2. The current line-up will have my husband biting his nails in less than 24 hours.

Its going to be a long weekend......

- .....Meh.....

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 8 Aug 2011 13:30:20 -0300

Nothing to report really. Cloudy, warm and windy (25knots). Nothing to write home about. Not even any rain. Pukey 4 year old is at camp and I havent gotten any calls to come collect her so I assume she has recovered.

HHI - Back to 1 .... empty tub of Ben and Jerrys found this AM next to the couch in the living room.

Carry on ....

Sue

- lets git it on!

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2011 18:02:45 -0300

Well here we are in the Bermudas... We have had some pretty squally weather lately. No real complaints as we are still behind on annual rainfall. Mostly cloudy today. Emily, or what will be left of her, is expected to pass to our north tomorrow so it should be rainy and windy with potential gale force gusts. Later this evening I will take in any random items from the balconies and check pool area for anything that could become airborne.

I saw my husband check the weather online about an hour ago. He was unaware that Emily was coming our way and when he saw the track laid out by the models I heard a noise in his throat...it reminded me of when you take a big sip of soda and a friend suddenly says something hilarious and you are stuck trying not to spew the drink out and swallow at the same time. Kind of like a choking/wind knocked out of your lungs/gulp. His reaction was tempered by the storm passing to our north ( we face south and are very exposed) and the fact that it is likely to be downgraded even more by the time she arrives.

HHI has been raised to 2. He bought a tub of Ben and Jerrys Phish Food (can you say comfort food) and ... well.... there was that noise in his throat.

In other news I have a pukey 4 year old... mild fever... Shes laying on the couch and Im letting her rot her brain by watching sponge bob.

Current wind at 17/18 knots. will keep you posted as things around here deteriorate.... or just fizzle out.

Sue

- Back to the rock...just in time?

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2011 10:58:38 -0400

I fly back to Bermuda tonight after four days in NY. We have had sunshine and warm days the whole time. Invest 91 is about to get a name and I assume by the time my plane touches down tonight we will have Emily in our midst. Too soon to determine where she may head but I dont like it....Bermudians still talk about the last storm named Emily we had many years ago. I wasnt living on the island at the time but I hear she was a doozy. I also assume the HHI will be raised by mid-week. Currently we are at a 1 due to my husbands ignorance of what is brewing. I'll wait for the models to run a little bit more before I bring it to his attention.

- NY NY

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 29 Jul 2011 07:05:55 -0400

In NY at my parents house. Its raining :) I love my visits here. As I type my father is reading the NY Times. He will read outloud when he finds something particularly astonishing. He is fit to be tied over the debt crisis and I am enjoying his rants "This country is crazy ! What is happening to the United States????! Dont move back here Sue! Im telling you this place is going to the dogs!!!!!........ who wants bacon and eggs?"

"A report on dead polar bears gets biologist suspended"

"FAA can not identify thousands of pilots but can identify many who should not have been issed licenses due to terrorist connections"

Last night I was treated to my fathers new favorite meal ..... "smashed potatos" ..... He called me over to the oven, opened it a crack so i could peek inside at the tray of potatoes and he said "take a look at these jewels". He was so excited... "this is the best recipe i ever got from the newspaper!!!" all the while my mother sits peacefully doing a crossowrd puzzle with a placating smile on her face.

.......ahhhhhh i cant wait for retirement.

- Cindy

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2011 19:48:18 -0300

TS Cindy has formed well to Bermudas NE... tonight the rock is snuggling down between Cindy and Bret. Lots of rain :) i mean.... liquid sunshine.... so so soooo sorry tourists... really i am!

- SUPA-BUG TO THE RESCUE! ...... nice try.

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2011 15:39:32 -0300

Yesterday we got 1.16" of rain ! Current conditions - 85% humidity with a temp of 81 and it just started drizzling. Poor tourists... I see them all wandering around town wearing hefty bags cleverly designed to look like ponchos. Some locals try to soothe the tourists with comments like "ah, this is just a bit of liquid sunshine"...and "Dont worry, tomorrow will be a *BERMUDAFUL* day!". I cant bring myself to do this. Not when I'm really thinking "OMG you poor sod! You have looked forward to this trip for months and all you are getting is rain and an atmosphere the consistency of pea soup".

The ants are settling in nicely in my office. The affable building super came around with a can of Supa-Bug (really? the ants at my house use that as mouthwash) and sprayed the cubicles of those who whined the loudest. HR sent out an apologetic email acknowledging the crisis and alerting us that they have the pest control people coming very soon to take the extermination process "to the next level". Well, I hope it happens fast cause some people are loosing their minds. Guy in cubicle next to me is setting ant traps using scotch tape.

Headed up to my parents place in NY next week. I hear they are having a bit of a heatwave. I dont mind. It will be an excuse to take my dad out every night to Carvel for ice cream or to sit in Barnes and Noble reading magazines. <3 home sweet home <3

- Tank Rain !

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 19 Jul 2011 09:38:38 -0300

Good news ! It poured most of yesterday and it is still pouring this AM. AND TS Bret seems to be fizzling out and staying far enough away to just bring some more RAIN!

Other good news includes me finding my passport which has been MIA for about 6 weeks. Just in time too as I fly to NY next week :)

Now, on a serious note.... the ants.... they have started to appear at my office. I think the sudden deluge of rain has them scrambling for cover. For those of you who think island life is all palm huts and tiki bars allow me to explain. I work in a real office. With real walls and real computers where we do real work (ok ok...most of the time). There is no pina colada machine in the kitchen and no smiley steel drum band in the lobby. My coworkers are pretending to be horrified by the ants. Pfffffft. what a bunch of sissys. Please people... stop pretending your home isnt as infested as mine with ants. Stop pretending you have never woken up in the middle of the night to see a roach the size of a baguette smiling at you and sharing your pillow. Stop pretending you flush after every pee and then wash your hands for 20 minutes. I know the truth...and it isnt always pretty.

Todays HHI= 1

- Tank Rain!

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 19 Jul 2011 09:37:46 -0300

Good news ! It poured most of yesterday and it is still pouring this AM. AND TS Bret seems to be fizzling out and staying far enough away to just bring some more RAIN!

Other good news includes me finding my passport which has been MIA for about 6 weeks. Just in time too as I fly to NY next week :)

Now, on a serious note.... the ants.... they have started to appear at my office. I think the sudden deluge of rain has them scrambling for cover. For those of you who think island life is all palm huts and tiki bars allow me to explain. I work in a real office. With real walls and real computers where we do real work (ok ok...most of the time). There is no pina colada machine in the kitchen and no smiley steel drum band in the lobby. My coworkers are pretending to be horrified by the ants. Pfffffft. what a bunch of sissys. Please people... stop pretending your home isnt as infested as mine with ants. Stop pretending you have never woken up in the middle of the night to see a roach the size of a baguette smiling at you and sharing your pillow. Stop pretending you flush after every pee and then wash your hands for 20 minutes. I know the truth...and it isnt always pretty.

Todays HHI= 1

- Aaaand Action!,,,, Bret Enter Stage Left.

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 17 Jul 2011 21:40:12 -0300

It's time to stop pressing the snooze button. Trop Dep 2 is getting his act together and the models show potential Tropical Storm "Bret" drifting our way in a few days time. Today was cloudy, cool-ish with a breeze but not one friggin drop of rain. NOT ONE! >:(

For those of you who have followed my posts over the past two seasons you know my husband does not handle extreme weather very well. He turns into a anxiety stricken lump as a storm approaches. Ive decided to start a "Husband Hurricane Index" or HHI for short. I figure a scale of 1-10 should do...a 1 being no storm anxiety and a 10 being we are flying out on the next flight.

Todays HHI = 2 - his eyes narrowed slightly as I informed him trop dep 2 was "organizing"

- .......yawn........

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 10 Jul 2011 11:21:35 -0300

Not much to report from the Devils Isle. The only thing worth mentioning is the lack of rainfall. Year to date we have had 13.63" of precipitation ... the average is 28.01" for those of you who are too hot to do the math, allow me......... thats a deficit of 14.38" ! size matters folks ;) People are waiting a long time for water delivery ...water saving methods have become draconian in our house. Im suriving on iced coffees and iced tea. The sea surface temp is slowly creeping up... the ocean felt like a bath yesterday.

The Napalm is still in full effect and the ants are on hiatus. :>

- Still need more...

By "Marion Dyer" <mdyer at myhome.bm>
Date: Sun, 3 Jul 2011 09:01:10 -0700

Hello Storm Carib friends.

Finally we got a little bit of rain... few isolated thunderstorms and a couple of heavy down pours but not over entire island. We are still 13 inches behind the norm. My tank is empty on one side and about 3 inches down on the other. For those that don't know we depends on the rain for water for our homes in Bermuda. They have started to pipe water to some house but not all have this option. Most of us are still praying for liquid gold. My poor outdoor plants have given up.. Presently there are grey clouds out and its humid but it could just blow away again like all the other days. I am hoping this will be a mild season.

Marion

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- ITS RAINING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 13 Jun 2011 10:27:43 -0300

ITS RAINING! like REALLY REALLY raining! :) And not a moment to soon. The island was beginning to look charred and crispy. My pool was so low the water wasnt able to reach the filter. So we had a messy commute this AM but NO ONE is complaining. It is supposed to remain rainy until Thursday.

The ants have mysteriously disappeared. Not a trace of em. I think someone in my condo complex has sprayed something akin to agent orange around the joint. What else can explain their disappearance? Normally i dont like to spray or use anything bad for the environment... but i must admit that this time I am adopting the "dont ask dont tell" approach.

- got water?

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 2011 20:57:33 -0300

Coleridge said it best:

Day after day, day after day,

We stuck, nor breath nor motion;

As idle as a painted ship

Upon a painted ocean.

Water, water, every where,

And all the boards did shrink;

Water, water, every where,

Nor any drop to drink.

- Here we go again!!! :>

By susan thomas <sargassosue at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 31 May 2011 22:07:04 -0300

ok ...no need to panic...yet. I mean, after all, we have 3 hours left before hurricane season begins. Rumour has it that its going to be an "active" season which is really just a nice way of saying there is a good chance you will have to board up and Jim Cantore will be paying you a visit. Given all the weird weather lately I wouldnt be surprised if the predictions come to fruition.

Bermuda is experiencing a bit of a drought. At the moment we are several inches behind where we were last year for precip. Water trucks keeping very busy and my husband has begun his harsh monitoring of my water usage. No superfluous flushing here and woe be to the person that runs the dishwasher without it being stuffed to capacity.

For those of you that follow my battle against the ants on a yearly basis you will be happy to know that this years battle has begun...but im war weary. Ive almost given up. In fact just yesterday i made a cup of coffee with my Keurig machine and found they had been using the water canister as a watering hole. Several ants made their way into my cup. Im so beaten down by them that i just scooped them out with my finger, wiped them on my pants and kept sipping. What can i say, the islands do strange things to people.

It's going to be a long summer. Plenty of time to get your supplies in order, emergency plans in place. The people in Joplin had 2 minutes... we have weeks... please everyone get a plan in order. Ask elderly neighbors if they need supplies for the season ... and dont forget fido.

~Sue

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