It was a cool and windy day in Montego Bay. Today’s high at the Sangster International Airport (elevation 10ft /3m) was 26 deg C/78 deg F. For much of today winds were blustery NNE between 20 and 25mph, making it feel chillier. We had no measurable rainfall in the city. The moisture seems to have moved east with the drier, cooler air in place.

 Today is a day of damage assessment for the city after yesterday’s torrential days.Below is the Jamaica Gleaners article…..

Rains batter St James - Tucker residents marooned for hours
published: Wednesday | November 19, 2008

Adrian Frater, News Editor
Students of Catherine Hall Primary School make their way home after the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management ordered schools closed due to flooding in some areas of St James. - photo by Adrian Frater

Western Bureau:

Residents of some sections of Tucker, St James, were marooned in their homes for hours yesterday, as flood waters associated with heavy rains, which have been lashing the parish since late Monday night left them trapped.

"We can't come out," shouted a resident across the flooded area that separated her home from the main road. "We can't go out to work and we can't go out to get food."

Rain intensified

The rain, which has been falling intermittently for the last three days, intensified between late Monday night and early yesterday morning, disrupting normal life, causing landslides and forcing the closure of at least one school in Montego Bay.

At the problematic John's Hall Quarry, it was a case of history repeating itself as a huge chunk of the roadway broke away. Other roads in proximity to that area experienced damage.

Water halfway up trees

On the farm at Barnett Estate Limited, which runs adjacent to the Irwin main road, there were large pools of water, some reaching as high as halfway up trees, and the nearby Barnett River rose to within inches of the main road.

Nearby, at the Howard Cooke Primary School, located in the Catherine Hall area, classes were dismissed shortly after 10 a.m. on the advice of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) as the Barnett River came perilously close to breaching its banks.

"I got a call from the ODPEM instructing us to dismiss school and send home the children," said Mavis Moses, the principal at Howard Cooke Primary. "We sent out an advisory, via the media, and the parents have been coming in to collect their children."

Montego Bay Mayor Charles Sinclair said the council's disaster team and the superintendent of roads and works at the parish council had been out on the streets, all morning, assessing the situation.

"As soon as the team gets back in, we will evaluate the situation and make a determination as to what action we will need to take," Sinclair said. "As is customary, we stand ready to offer whatever assistance we can."

adrian.frater at gleanerjm.com

surface map source:http://www.weathermatrix.net/weather/incoming/tropics.png

It is a wet, cool and windy evening in Montego Bay and across Jamaica. Since last night, the winds have been out of the NE between 15-25mph and the temperatures have been 3 degrees cooler, but this is nothing when compared to the heavy rains affecting portions of the island. This is by far the strongest cold front to affect the island since the start of the year.

 My home parish of St.James and the neighbouring parish of Trelawny have been experiencing torrential rainfall. Based on media reports It has been pouring rain in the hilly interior of St.James. Montego Bay extends from the base of these hills to the coast ,with the Barnett River running through the city. The result has been a tremendous amount of water flowing through the Barnett River and threatening portions Western Montego Bay. I live in the other end of the city and we have picked up 40mm/1.56in in the past 24hrs add that to the enhanced rain from the hilly interior and the result is schools closing early and persons on edge.

The local weather service has issued a flash flood waring for all Northern Parishes. November 18, 2008 at 12:00 p.m.

NEWS RELEASE

***FLASH FLOOD WARNING NOW IN EFFECT FOR NORTHERN PARISHES***

The Meteorological Service has issued a Flash Flood Warning for low-lying and flood-prone areas of northern parishes until 5:00 a.m. tomorrow.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING means that flooding has been reported or will occur shortly. Motorists and pedestrians should not attempt to cross flooded roadways or other low-lying areas as strong currents are likely. Residents in low-lying areas should be on the alert for fast rising waters and be ready to move quickly to higher ground.

The island is being affected by a Stationary Front that currently extends across the island from the North Atlantic Ocean. Throughout last night and early this morning, Doppler radar reported moderate to heavy showers and isolated thunderstorms across the island, especially western and northern parishes.

The forecast is for continued outbreaks of showers and isolated thunderstorms today and tonight; therefore, flash flooding is expected over low-lying areas. Windy conditions and temperatures slightly lower than normal are also expected.

Fishers and other marine interests, mainly north of the island, are advised to exercise caution as gusty winds and rough seas may also be encountered in the vicinity of showers and thunderstorms.

The Meteorological Service will continue to monitor the situation.

Pef

Below is the radiojamaica.com report…..

Cold front results in flooding out West

End……………………….

Please don't try cross flooded roadways,TURN AROUND DON'T DROWN!

It has been a rainy week in Montego Bay; the island has been under a flash flood warning since the 31^st of October. The rain has been fairly light with only 30mm/1.16in since October 1.The significant element this week has been the cloud cover. We have not seen the sun in over a week. The forecast calls for a wet weekend, which I canʼt complain about at least it is not 113mph winds. All the local agencies are closely watch Paloma

 Tonight, many Jamaicans are monitoring the developments in our sister islands Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. Many Jamaicans have family in the Caymans and both our islands enjoy close relationships. Grand Cayman is a bit lucky as a last minute jog has spared them the sustained hurricane winds, but this jog is very bad news for Little Cayman where sustained winds of 115mph is possible.

We wish everyone in Cayman the best of luck.

so far in Grand Cayman as heard on www.radiocayman.gov.ky

gust up 100 mph reported by ham radio operators in Grand Cayman.

some rain gauges in the Eastern district reporting 10 inches of rain.

Coverage

http://www.hurricanecity.com/live.htm

local updates(Cayman0

www.gov.ky/

Itʼs a nice, bright night with full moon outside in Montego Bay. On Monday, while sandwiched between T.D six and T.S Omar, Montego Bay experienced some moderate rainfall with a total accumulation 19mm/0.75in.

I have been listening to live stream WSTX-AM out of St.Croix. These are some of the reports coming over the air.

·         Report of 50mph winds in the eastern end of that Island.

·         A caller has reported two sunken boats in the harbour.

·         Several trees down, many roads flooded, others blocked by trees.

·         A caller reported a large cashew tree blocking the Highway project and Melvin Highway.

·         The island is without power due to internal generation problem.

·         Surge reported coming over the Christiansted boardwalk.

·         At 8pm est. Hurricane Omar located 80 miles SSW of St. Croix. Hurricane   Omar to move over the eastern end of St. Croix between 1-3 am. Sustained winds of 65-95mph, with gust to 110mph expected.

Live Hurricane Omar coverage streaming from Christiansted, U.S.V.I wstx-am www.mainstreamnetwork.com/listen/player.asp?station=wstx-am&

Our best wishes, hopes and prayers go out to the people of Virgin Islands. It will be a rough night, but the sun will shine tomorrow.

Posted Wednesday 15th October 9:00pm ast.

Yesterday was pure excitement as the city of Montego Bay welcomed Jamaica’s Olympic team. Thousands of Montegonians came out to greet the team that has made the country so proud. Usain Bolt was presented with the Keys to the City and the team was honoured by the city.

Almost every year at this time, Jamaica has a conjunctivitis “pink eye” outbreak. This year has been no different with St.James hit hard.  Personally, I think there might be a connection to the weather, with October been so wet, but there have been no studies to determine the reason. I have caught the infection several times over the years and it is not pleasant. Your eyes feel gritty or grainy, the eyes get very red or pink and a yellow/grey discharge causes the eyes to close shut when one wakes in the morning. This occurs over a period of two weeks. It is more contagious than the cold or flu. The best way to protect yourself is to constantly wash your hands, also stock up on some saline eye drops. There have been times where one person with the infection goes to school or work and the entire class or office within a week has the infection. So if you contract the infection, please stay home until you get better.

There were scattered clouds throughout the day, which turned mostly cloudy and rain this afternoon. At home, 11km, ESE of the Sangster International Airport, we picked up 17mm/0.66in of rainfall. The basin is quiet; we might have to watch the Caribbean Sea for a named storm next week.

Rains, Rain go away

This afternoon, a strong thunderstorm moved across the Montego Bay area. The thunderstorm produced heavy rain and lightning sending commuters scurrying for cover. As the storm moved closer to the house I heard a loud boom and the power went, this was after 4p.m.One hour later I called the light company, and I was told a crew was already out to repair the problem. They did a good job as the power was restored by 6pm. Yesterday, I assembled and sited my new rain gauge, the new one is digital and wireless, and so I no longer have to go out in dangerous conditions. At point this afternoon, we were getting 2mm of rain per minute; the rain has since tapered off.

 Todayʼs accumulation is 0.92inches/23mm. Yesterday we experienced some light showers total accumulation 0.02in/1mm. Since I returned to the island on Monday, It has been very stick and humid, it has also rained every rained everyday in the same time period between 1-4pm.This type of activity is normal for October. It is our rainiest month. The culprit this week has been a persistent surface trough with an embedded surface low near Honduras. This has been producing showers and thunderstorms over the entire northwestern Caribbean. Areas in Eastern Cuba have experienced daily amounts 0f 75-80mm of rain, not that much here, but the humidity and the monsoon like showers have been creating misery.

A very interesting new story,posted in the UK's  Guardian newspaper.

October gets off to a stormy start; Hurricane forecaster predicts 3 named storms for October

Yesterday, Montego Bay experienced heavy rainfall. The rain began at 12:35pm and lasted for two hours. Only some minor street flooding reported. October is traditionally Jamaica’s wettest month. Below is what a normal October looks like in Montego Bay, based on the Monthly Average of Climatological Data for the Montego Bay Sangster International airport.                               

October               max temp 30.4deg c       Min temp 23.1 deg c       Rainfall 166mm                 Number of rainy days 13                Relative Humidity 7am 86%   1pm 75%                    Sunshine 7.5hours

The Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (http://www.cimh.edu.bb/curprecip.htm )is predicting wetter than usual conditions for the Caribbean region over the next two months.

Below is their discussion,

“Sep-Oct-Nov 2008

El Niño Southern Oscillation is currently in a neutral state; however the upper atmosphere still indicates a La Niña signal: hence convective systems traversing the Atlantic basin and into the Caribbean Sea region will meet favourable upper air conditions.

The Northern Caribbean area is forecasted to receive above normal rainfall for this period.

The Belize area is expected experience wet to normal conditions.

In the Southern Caribbean the precipitation totals over the forecasted period are expected to be well above normal.

The Eastern Caribbean area is forecasted to experience above normal rainfall for the next three months. 

Temperature: Throughout the Caribbean, air temperature is expected to warmer than usual. This is especially for the North-western Caribbean region (Jamaica, Cuba, Bahamas and Belize)’’.

So far they have been accurate as this September was much wetter than average.

Hurricane forecaster predicts three named storms in October

By Ken Kaye

October 2, 2008  (source Sun Sentinel)

We're not in the clear yet, storm prognosticator William Gray says.

Gray and his research associate Phil Klotzbach call for an active month of October with three named storms, including two hurricanes, they said in a report Wednesday.

The reason the Colorado State University forecasters expect this month to be busy: warm sea surface temperatures across the tropical Atlantic combined with low sea level pressures.

So far, 12 named storms including six hurricanes, three intense, have developed.