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- Fwd: [HURR] - Rafael

By Gert van Dijken <gert at vandijken.com>
Date: Wed, 6 Nov 2024 13:39:55 -0800

From: Barrie Quappe <barriequappe at yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, Nov 6, 2024 at 1:31 PM

Dearest Gert!

I was not in Cayman for this one as we are now splitting our time in Maine!

However from family:

“Little Cayman was hit hard. Power lines and trees are down, so they’ll be without power for a while. Siding ripped off the east side of one building, water inside. Head of Bay dock gone, roads are blocked with trees and power lines. Kingston Bight dock was damaged and some roof/building damage. Dive businesses have boats beached, so there is some damage there, I expect.”

"CI government emergency services were sent over before the storm, and Faith Hospital was set up on the bluff to continue care at the Aston Rutty Centre.”

That’s all I have Gert!

Best,

Barrie

- Minimal wind and rain in Bodden Town, Grand Cayman

By Wes Howell <wes.howell at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 6 Nov 2024 03:41:57 +0000

Here in Bodden Town, Grand Cayman, it is a little surreal that Hurricane Rafael is less than 100 miles off to our east, and just over an inch of rain has fallen, with a maximum gust of 22 mph today. The winds are currently blowing out of the west.

I pray for the continued protection of our families, friends, colleagues and residents in Little Cayman and Cayman Brac.

- Cayman Brac

By "Michael Whiteman" <mmajsw at candw.ky>
Date: Tue, 5 Nov 2024 21:18:19 -0500

The center of the storm has passed Little Cayman and Cayman Brac.

All of Cayman Brac is currently without power. Island Energy reports that they will begin to restore power once the winds have eased.

Brac Reef Hotel has evacuated all of its guests/tenants due to waves coming into the buildings.

Some trees on the south side of the Bluff have been uprooted due to the winds.

Heavy rains continue.

No update from Little Cayman as yet. They would have been closer to the center.

- Rafael

By "Dee MacKenzie" <weedee at candw.ky>
Date: Tue, 5 Nov 2024 18:12:26 -0500

It is now a little after 6 p.m. and Rafael has really intensified here on the North side of Cayman Brac. It is not meant to reach us until about 7:00 p.m but it is now moving a little faster at 15mph so may hit sooner. Winds have increased to 70 mph but feel and sound much higher. It will likely be a Category 1 Hurricane soon if the winds keep increasing and the barometer dropping. We have had 2 power glitches so far but luckily they were very short and power was back on readily. It is still raining hard here so settling in for the evening.

Dee

Virus-free.www.avg.com

- Rain

By jarrett nicholson <jaroo12 at hotmail.com>
Date: Tue, 5 Nov 2024 21:20:41 +0000

I took this a few hours ago, it’s raining pretty good right now. The wind is light but we’ll see what happens if we get a couple of rain bands.

As I mentioned before, Little and the Brac will feel the winds.

- Update from Grand Cayman

By "Michael Whiteman" <mmajsw at candw.ky>
Date: Tue, 5 Nov 2024 15:19:24 -0500

It has been a quiet day.

First rain band associated with Rafael are now passing through Grand Cayman.

Strom is now forecast to be a Cat 1 when it passes the Sister Islands

- Update

By "Dee MacKenzie" <weedee at candw.ky>
Date: Tue, 5 Nov 2024 14:58:05 -0500

We are located on the North side of Cayman Brac. Lots of rain so far today and gusty wind but not bad yet.

Dee

Virus-free.www.avg.com

- Nothing to report yet, Grand Cayman

By jarrett nicholson <jaroo12 at hotmail.com>
Date: Tue, 5 Nov 2024 18:30:05 +0000

Sun is out. The wind has start to pick up and bit and the local radar is 
showing rain south east of us. I think the sister islands will take the brunt 
of this one. 
So far so good.

- "...and so it continued by day and by night..."

By Malcolm Saunders <malcolmgeorge at mac.com>
Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2024 08:33:05 -0500

Tropical Storm Helene has intensified overnight with a substantial drop in 
barometric pressure. Although the storm has moved away from the Cayman Islands 
storm clouds are keeping things very dark this morning. Schools remain closed 
and the island-wide flooding is extensive. It is not a matter of ‘if’ but 
‘when’ will the system be declared a hurricane. Good luck Florida, Helene is 
heading your way!

- Au revoir Helene

By Malcolm Saunders <malcolmgeorge at mac.com>
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2024 16:36:15 -0500

Tropical Storm Helene looks to have ‘side-stepped’ Grand Cayman and seems to be 
set on squeezing her way through the gap between Cuba and the Yucatan 
peninsula. The storm is intensifying because even as it moves further away from 
the Cayman Islands our own barometric pressure measurements have been dropping 
steadily this afternoon.

We did not think it necessary to close the shutters before we went to bed and 
did not regret our decision. 

The wind and rain during the night did not lead to much flooding on our 
property and just one coconut limb fell overnight. The wind is still boisterous 
as nightfall fast approaches. We will wait and see how things are tomorrow 
morning before venturing out on the roads

- Update from Cayman

By "Michael Whiteman" <mmajsw at candw.ky>
Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2024 23:29:33 -0500

Good night;

At 9pm tonight, all airports in the Cayman Islands are closed.

Government offices, banks, schools (private and public) , courts and vehicle inspections are also closed tomorrow -Tuesday Sept 23.

Winds are steady around 25mph with some gusts.

Rain is intermittent but is expected to get worse later tonight / early tomorrow morning.

Accumulations of up to 12 inches are forecast, but so far we are running way behind the predicted amount.

We will see what tomorrow brings.

- Looking back at Beryl

By Malcolm Saunders <malcolmgeorge at mac.com>
Date: Sat, 6 Jul 2024 07:33:41 -0500

The three things that are most important about buying property, we are told, 
are ‘Location, location, location’. Well, you might say that the three most 
important aspects about hurricanes are ‘Preparation, preparation preparation’. 
Or, putting it another way, ‘Failing to plan means you are planning to fail’.

Incredibly, considering we were given ample notice of Beryl’s arrival and 
intensity, there were folks who did not put up shutters on their properties! 
Photographs of the consequences have appeared on social media. 

Two positives… The Humane Society put out appeals for people to foster cats and 
dogs housed at their flood-prone centre. Dozens of folk stepped in to keep the 
kitties and puppies safe from the storm.

Some low-lying areas are prone to flooding. Kind hearted people dumped sand and 
empty sandbags by roadsides with a ‘Help yourself’ notice. An elderly lady went 
to get some sandbags for herself… but a young man stepped forward and filled 
bags and loaded up her car with them. The grateful lady posted her thanks on 
social media, about someone setting out to ‘do good’ when the weather is 
turning bad.

MGSINBT

- Update from Cayman

By "Michael Whiteman" <mmajsw at candw.ky>
Date: Fri, 5 Jul 2024 19:47:37 -0500

Good day Gert;

I tried posting late yesterday but for unknown reasons, Storm Carib would not let me.

For persons who were not living along the south coastline, and into West Bay and along the north coast there was really no damage to homes. Lots of leaves, many branches and quite a few trees were down.

Along the south coast, low lying South Sound RD was blocked by downed trees and sand/rocks. Some roads were blocked by fallen trees and branches, but they were quickly cleared.

In a complex called Windsor Village, their damage was mostly from waves hitting the ground floor ocean front units.

Electricity was on during the storm with a couple flickers, but most outside of North Side and East End never lost power.

One water company shut down their system around 11pm on Wed night, while the other had the water on all during the storm.

The predicted storm surge did not happen.

I measured about 6.5” rain over the whole event.

There was flooding in low lying areas, but some get flooded during a heavy rainstorm.

Overall, for most people, we were blessed with little or no damage.

Kind regards

Mike

- Cayman

By Donna Sjostrom <fishing at candw.ky>
Date: Fri, 5 Jul 2024 15:08:08 -0500

I would like to thank Storm Carib for offering these services of contact with the public.

We here in Cayman are so grateful that Beryl has passed us and no real damage or lost of life has occurred.

There are tree limbs and leaves that need cleaned up, but all in all seems everyone is okay.

Our grocery stores and utility services did well for us. We had water and power, although some areas didn’t but were restored quickly.

Today, Friday, seems all offices and business are up and running.

And we at present have a container ship in harbour off loading more supplies.

Our first cruise ship will be coming on Monday, And all air transportation seems to be back to normal.

Thanks to all airlines that offered evacuation flights.

So that is my update. And maybe there are others who have updates that they can share.

Thanks to all and keep safe.

Donna

- grand cayman

By ann smith <ann8751 at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Jul 2024 17:05:51 -0500

The storm has passed now, but we are still getting periodic squalls and 
sometimes a little bit of sunshine. The south side of the island got the worst 
damage from what can be seen at the moment, but thankfully no lives were lost 
and everything is getting back to normal.  

There is another storm following closely behind Beryl but according  to the 
national hurricane center this won’t develop into anything. Fingers crossed.

Ann

- Moving on...

By Malcolm Saunders <malcolmgeorge at mac.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Jul 2024 15:18:37 -0500

Moving on…

The Cayman Islands Government issued the ‘All Clear’ notice just after 1:00 PM this afternoon. The Water Authority turned the supply back on around the same time. Earlier this morning I was so relieved to read that the storm had passed “…some time ago…” at around 06:30 (local time) that was the best news!

The reports from the BBC about the situation in Jamaica are very disturbing… we were spared!

It’s not over until it’s over…with our shutters open I can see torrential rain!

- Grand Cayman: Beryl

By Sharon Marcussen <s_marcussen2003 at yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Jul 2024 14:56:16 +0000 (UTC)

Grand Cayman 10am

Still getting some rain and gusts, with occasional whiplash gusts, but much less than an hour ago.

More light penetrating the cloud cover.

Hearing a few reports of storm damage, and seeing an occasional car out and about.

A few people opening their shutters a little, to get some fresh air.

Almost done, Cayman!

- Grand Cayman: Beryl

By Sharon Marcussen <s_marcussen2003 at yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Jul 2024 14:08:46 +0000 (UTC)

Grand Cayman 9am.

We are currently experiencing very fierce gusts and driving rain once again, there was a lull a bit earlier.

I seem to be hearing thunder?

Lots of power outages especially along the coast and in NS/EE; I was lucky to just experience a quick blip and power was back on. Thanks CUC!

Water was turned off last night at 11pm; internet is working fine.

No reports of surge - we live along a canal and can see the water level is higher than normal, but no spill over.

Everybody is breathing a sigh of relief, and catching a nap, as Beryl begins to move away.

Hope everybody is safe!

- Bye-bye Beryl!

By Malcolm Saunders <mgsinbt345 at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Jul 2024 08:03:20 -0500

During the night the intensity of the wind and rain varied… quieter intervals amidst wilder spells. This was not as ‘bad’ as hurricane Ivan, thankfully. Hurricane Beryl’s passing by Grand Cayman would have been “…by the dawn’s early light…” except there wasn’t much light in the sky at the time! The barometric pressure registering on my digital barometer dipped slightly below 1000 overnight but is climbing steadily.

I am observing that the pressure seems to fluctuate, 1000.3 but 1000.2 minutes later. Perhaps this has something to do with the instability of the mass of air churning its way past Bodden Town. There are occasional gusts blowing the trees and bushes around but the rain has halted for now.

MGSINBT

- Current conditions - Grand Cayman

By Wes Howell <wes.howell at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Jul 2024 04:32:26 -0500

Hurricane Beryl is tracking south of Grand Cayman (The island is indicated by the red arrow on the radar image). Winds are now gusting to 50mph, and the Electricity is still on in most areas.

I pray that everyone remains safe as the storm moves through our area.

- All quiet on Grand Cayman

By Joyce Cantlay <joycecantlay at icloud.com>
Date: Wed, 3 Jul 2024 19:10:23 -0500

It will be dark soon, but we can see the South Sound reef and all is calm. A 
few cars passing by, but most people are sheltered in place. Being so small, we 
are hard to hit and are quite hopeful that it will not be nearly as bad as was 
planned for. 
Sent from my iPad

- Beryl

By Joyce Cantlay <joycecantlay at icloud.com>
Date: Wed, 3 Jul 2024 12:33:17 -0500

Here on Grand Cayman everyone appears to be extremely prepared and taking Beryl 
very seriously. First time the government has offered free sand (from their 
road works supply) at various locations and everyone has taken advantage of 
that.  We are more concerned about the sea than the wind, so cars are being 
moved to higher ground, and people are prepping their homes for flooding. Lots 
of kindness and sharing out there.  I do not think the island could be more 
prepared. Thus far CUC has decided NOT to fully turn off power universally. We 
are all thinking of our friends and family in Jamaica! 
Sent from my iPad

- Grand Cayman: Beryl

By Sharon Marcussen <s_marcussen2003 at yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 3 Jul 2024 11:08:14 +0000 (UTC)

Grand Cayman 5am:
The island is calm and quiet. No breeze, looks like it will be another hot day.
Workplaces and stores are closing by 1pm, giving everybody time for final preps.

Evacuees and tourists catching the last flights out.

Beryl's wobbled a little lower so she will hit the southern coast of Jamaica as a cat 4. She also looks to be passing a bit further south of us, as a cat 2.5ish. Hoping this southerly drift continues!

As we prepare, our thoughts are with Jamaica, and the islands already devastated by Beryl. What will the reports out of Jamaica be like? We can only hope and pray.

- Cayman

By Donna Sjostrom <fishing at candw.ky>
Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2024 20:52:50 -0500

The groceries store are still stocked and lumber for shutters are available.

I believe we are ready. Just need the winds to pass quickly. we can deal with the rain after it passes - at least I hope so.

All keep safe

Donna

- Report from Grand Cayman

By Malcolm Saunders <malcolmgeorge at mac.com>
Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2024 17:17:33 -0500

This Tuesday afternoon in Bodden Town, Grand Cayman it is currently 32° C in the shade under bright, sunny skies. However, changes are afoot… the story so far...

~ as of about 3:00 today, Tuesday, the Cayman Islands are in ‘Hurricane Warning’ mode
~ the last day of school for this academic year was last Friday, so the kids are ‘home’.
~ yesterday (Monday) was a Public Holiday, many retail stores opened special hours, and business was brisk.
~ some businesses have said they will be operating reduced hours tomorrow and at least one bank said they will be closed all day.
~ our national airline, Cayman Airways are scheduling ‘evacuation flights’ for tourists currently on island.
~ Grand Cayman’s airport, Owen Roberts International, has announced it will remain open until 6:00PM tomorrow (Wednesday).
~ traffic was ‘heavy’ on the roads leading to George Town this morning.
~ shops were quite busy and shoppers were calmly stocking up on emergency supplies. The supermarkets were still well-stocked.

Our weather bureau says that the barometric pressure is 1013.4 millibars. My own, non-authorised, digital barometer reads 1008.5. This morning it was at 1009.5.

We will see how things progress tomorrow when Beryl is expected to impact Jamaica.

MGSINBT

- Hurricane Beryl

By Alicia Dixon <jennybaps1958 at live.com>
Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2024 19:24:43 +0000

Hi Gert

It has been a busy couple of days as people have been stocking supplies, getting plywood etc. to shutter if they had no hurricane shutters, gassing up vehicles etc. Bright, very hot sunshine today. We are all preparing as best we can and praying and hoping for the best. As it stands now, it is supposed to pass us 41miles South of Grand Cayman, 86 miles south of Little Cayman and 92 miles south of Cayman Brac

Will try to update as i am able. We pray for all our neighbours who have been affected already, and for our family and friends in Jamaica. May God protect us all. God bless. Alicia(Jen)Dixon, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

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- Re: Beryl - Cayman Brac

By Gert van Dijken <gert at vandijken.com>
Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2024 11:10:03 -0700

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: <bluewaters at candw.ky>
Date: Tue, Jul 2, 2024 at 11:00 AM
Subject: Re: Beryl - Cayman Brac

Hello Storm Carib,

We are just watching to see how close it continues and if the trajectory will change or it wobbles closer, much more to learn tomorrow (Wednesday) , all we can do is get ready and take heed moving outdoor items to be more secure if it should pass by closer and winds tend to be more intense, I am calculating winds for the Brac to be varied at 50 - 80 MPH gusts not sure if they will be steady or not? at the current path it is designated on!

Good Luck to all in its path..

Terry

- Rain, Rain

By William Mc Taggart <wmctagga at candw.ky>
Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2024 14:36:24 -0500

Good afternoon,

Here in Western Grand Cayman, just south of the airport, the rain beganat about 4am and in the past hour or so turned to drizzle. My DavisVantage Pro2 station has recorder just over 6" for the rainfall eventtoday, with a monthly total of 12.75" as I write. Still light drizzle.Station # I90580545 on Weather Underground. Unfortunately no longer live.

William

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