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See the Montserrat Volcano Observatory website for updates on the Soufriere Hills Volcano, and ssd.noaa.gov for volcanic ash advisories.

- This is the Caribbean Weather we have come to know and Love
  • From: Tina Bretton <tbretton59 at msn.com>
  • Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2008 13:25:28 -0500
Good Afternoon

 
It is a beautiful day here on Montserrat. The sun is shining and we have extra blue skies , we have a nice breeze to keep temperatures from climbing too high. Everything is soooooooooo green from all the rain. The volcano is quiet and non-stinky. 
This is the kind of day that you lie on the beach and watch the clouds float by. Or sit on the veranda or by the pool with your favorite drink and a good book. Sit in the garden and watch the hummingbirds and other critters play. Take a hike into the hills. Do what ever as long as it is outdoors.
Man oh man what a gorgeous day!  
This is why they call it Paradise, cause it don't get better then this.
 
Tina
Isles Bay
Montserrat
       
 



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- And it came from the south
  • From: "Tina" <tbretton59 at msn.com>
  • Date: Sat, 20 Sep 2008 13:38:04 -0400
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Good Afternoon
 
Whoa, very heavy rain storm came through here, unusual for it to come from the south..  Winds were not to bad but the rain was. Not much lightening but thunder was pretty loud, enough to send the dogs running for the nearest protector (human lap).  It came through at about 11am, it is still rain but not as hard as earlier.  The Belham Valley flooded and water is still running pretty good. From the looks of the blob, I guess we are in for some more heavy rain. It is a good thing we drove the car to the other side of the valley, we have to pick up some people from the airport later. Attached is the rains coming and of the water flooding the valley.
 
Have a good day and be safe!
Tina
Isles Bay, Montserrat
Storm a coming, you can't tell where the sky begins or the Sea ends.
Belham flooding
The strip in between the trees is our road.
flood waters in the Belham
This is not a lahar, just a lot of water
Flooding to the Sea
 

- Did Someone forget to mention a tropical storm coming?
  • From: Tina Bretton <tbretton59 at msn.com>
  • Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2008 17:22:08 -0500

Good Evening
 
Boy, what blew in early this morning . Woke up to howling winds and driving rain at about 4:00am, it was awful. I could hear the shingles on the roof flapping and things being blown around. I got back to sleep only to be woke up again by the wind howling louder and things crashing and breaking. It reminded me of when Dean pasted through the area last year (Come to think of it this was worse). It was very unexpected. The wind was blowing 20 to 30 knots, a lot higher gusts. Don't mind the rain but I can do without the winds blowing that hard  it scared me and my dogs. 
Went out to check for damage, thinks blown over, lots of tree branches broken, lots of shingles missing. It stayed cloudy all day and the wind let up around 10 or 11 am. Then no wind at all. Very strange.
I have attached a picture of our volcano, taken last evening. It was steaming with just enough ash to make it look like it was creating a rain cloud. I thought it looked cool.
 
Have a great evening.   
Tina
Isles Bay
Montserrat
       
 



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- Nothing Major Happening Here
  • From: Tina Bretton <tbretton59 at msn.com>
  • Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:33:36 -0500
Good Afternoon
 
Nothing major to report on Montserrat. Just a beautiful day. Some slightly dark clouds pass over now and then. Nice breeze that is keeping the humidity and heat down. Nice day for lounging around.
Man,this is the life..Sun, sea and a wonderful breeze .  
Had a loud, flashing rain storm the night before last. Rain in abundance, the Belham Valley flooded but all water was gone by morning. Volcano is pretty quiet (for now). Just can't get any better then this.
My heart and prayers go out to all who have suffered damage and losses from all the TS and hurricanes of late. I pray that recovery is quick. Watching the videos and seeing pictures is just so heartbreaking.
Thank Goodness, we are not seeing anything major coming off Africa's coast (at the moment anyway.
 
Take Care & be safe
Tina
Isles Bay
Montserrat
       
 




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- Rain & ash = yuck
  • From: Tina Bretton <tbretton59 at msn.com>
  • Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:23:24 -0500
Good Evening Everyone
 
Sorry for the late report. Last night we received some very heavy rain complete with the sound and light show ( lots of thunder and lightening). Apparently our volcano did not appreciate being disturbed in the middle of the night so early this morning, she let us know how displeased she was. We got "ashed", from the reports the whole island got ashed. You can check out the MVO website for the full report.
Today was a beautiful day (except I spent it cleaning up ash). This afternoon we had dark clouds and thunder but no rain. The rain would have been nice to clean the ash out of the trees and off the roads. Oh well, maybe tonight. Hopefully, with no thunder or lightening, let the volcano sleep .
 
For all those in the path of TS Gustav, my prayers are with you. Please be smart and be safe. And to the rest, we have a couple of waves coming that need to be watched.    

Tina
Isles Bay
Montserrat
       
 




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- Overcast but pleasant day
  • From: <tbretton59 at msn.com>
  • Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2008 11:21:49 -0400
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Good Morning Everyone
 
Montserrat is experiencing very little from 94L (so far). Some light gusting wind (off and on), very light showers and cloudy skies. Nice thing, the temperature has cooled down some. Very pleasant day.
We all need stay aware of all activity in the Caribbean, you never know what will develop.
Be prepared and be safe
Tina
Isles Bay, Montserrat
 
 
Clouds over Old Road/Isles Bay beach
Cloud cover
 

- Welcomed Rain
  • From: Tina Bretton <tbretton59 at msn.com>
  • Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2008 08:34:27 -0500
Good Morning Everyone
 
Last evening the thunder and lightening started, put on quite a show (scared the heck out of my dogs) but no rain during the thunder storm. During the night we had a few good rain showers, they came off and on through out the night and into early this morning. The showers were very welcome, no damage just good soaking rains.
Today is looking to be a gorgeous day, the breeze is back and the sun is shining, beautiful.
I hope and pray that everyone northwest of us stays safe and no harm comes to anyone.
 
Have a beautiful and SAFE day!
Tina
Isles Bay
Montserrat
       
 



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- Hot and Humid
  • From: <tbretton59 at msn.com>
  • Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:07:47 -0400
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Good Afternoon
 
It has been mostly overcast to day. Hot and humid, not as hot as the past couple of days but today we have NO breeze, none..nada. Makes for a very uncomfortable day. Rain would be nice!
Attached are some pictures from this morning when the clouds started moving in. They were coming from the north and Northeast. Nice looking clouds all day but no rain yet.  
 

- Darn, the volcano did not go to sleep
  • From: Tina Bretton <tbretton59 at msn.com>
  • Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:47:01 -0500
Good Morning Everyone
 
It has been beautiful here on Montserrat. Clear skies but alittle on the humid side (we can live with that).
 Down side...the volcano has been rearing its ugly ash clouds again. The winds have been in our favor and the ash has stayed to the south (meaning "no clean up").
 Last night at 11:30pm we had a partial dome collapse, which is the first major event in over a year. The pyroclastic flows went into Plymouth (the deserted Capital) you could see the light from the fires behind the ridge. 
 We are very blessed because, the collapse went into an area that is deserted so no one was harmed and the only property that was damage was properties already damage in past events.  For other information you can go to the MVO website at  mvo.ms 
This morning, it is gorgeous outside and looking like it is going to be a wonderful day.
 
Take Care and Be safe 
Tina
Isles Bay
Montserrat
       
 



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- Looks like another gorgous day in paradise.
  • From: Tina Bretton <tbretton59 at msn.com>
  • Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2008 07:04:06 -0500
Good Morning Everyone
 
After reading all the reports, it looks as though Bertha will miss Bermuda. Let's all pray that this is so.
Montserrat has been getting some rain the last few days, mostly at night & in the morning. The rain & breeze has kept it very comfortable. It has been very pleasant.
This morning we has been getting showers off and on, some heavy some light. You can also hear the thunder in the background.
The volcano has been extremely quiet (Thank God). Everyone on Montserrat is praying that the pause continues. 
 
Have a beautiful day  
Tina
Isles Bay
Montserrat
       
 



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- Very Breezy
  • From: <tbretton59 at msn.com>
  • Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2008 08:46:14 -0400
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Good Morning Everyone
 
It has been very breezy the last couple of days, but last night was just down right windy. I had to get up and close the windows on the east facing side because it was knocking my lamps over. I got up this morning and the plants around the pool deck were knocked over, mangos all over the driveway and quite a few branches on the ground all over the property. Our forecast said winds gusting to 20 to 25 knots..I think it was probably more like 30 knots. We were blessed with some more rain, lots of it. It started about 9:00 last night and came off and on all night. I love the sound of rain. The rain has quit but our forecast calls for overcast skies and scattered showers most of the day. The winds are calm but gusting quite a bit, I had to bunch the plants up so they would quit falling over.
Well I better go pick up all the mangos or I will have pigs, cows and goats following the trail of mangos up my drive.  After they finish the mangos then they will help themselves to the rest of my yard, not a good thing.
 
The clouds coming over the central hills this morning
 
 
 
 
 
Have a great fun filled day!
Tina

- Lovely, Lovely Rain
  • From: <tbretton59 at msn.com>
  • Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:23:54 -0400
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Good Afternoon All
 
Montserrat has finally got the rain we so desperately needed. The last few days it has been extremely hot and very very dry. The dry air has been sucking the moisture out of my plants. I water in the early morning and the plants are totally dry within a couple of hours. We woke up about 1:30 to a downpour and howling winds, it has been raining heavily all night and most of the morning. It has lightened up and the sun looks like it is trying to come out. I am very happy, everything got a good soaking. The plants have already perked up. The bonus is that it has cooled down a lot. It is quite comfortable.
Down sided of the heavy rain, the Belham Valley. That?s ok, the water quits running in an hour or so but when it runs it comes hard and fast. Nice thing, the bulldozer came across earlier so it fixed the road after the rain quit as it was  going back across. It has just been my lucky day
 
 
Belham Valley flooded
Our road with water added
Belham flooded
Belham Valley flooded
Belham Valley flooded
    

Have a great day
& a safe weekend 
Tina

Isles Bay
Montserrat
       
 


- Nice Weather We Are Having
  • From: <tbretton59 at msn.com>
  • Date: Mon, 2 Jun 2008 21:08:18 -0400
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Good Evening Everyone
 
And it starts, another hurricane season.  I certainly hope that everyone is prepared for what may (or may not) come.  Please do not wait until the last minute to get everything in order and stock up on needed supplies.  Better to be prepared and nothing happens, then for something to happen and you are unprepared. 
The weather here in Montserrat has been beautiful. Slightly overcast during parts of the day & a nice breeze to keep it from getting to hot.  Great weather for lounging around the pool or on the beach.  We have had some nice showers during the night and early morning so everything is turning green again. I love it because now I do not have to get up really early and water everything. I can just be lazy and stay in bed a little long (or until the dogs have to go out).   
Everyone was hoping our volcano had popped it's last cork in 2006, but alas it has not (Confused smile emoticon bummer). It has been waking up a little.  On May 13th, an explosion sent an ash cloud about 10,000 ft into the sky, and the prevailing north - west winds brought it right over my house (yuck Crying face smile emoticon) it was not a lot but enough to coat everything in ash, so I spent the afternoon cleaning it up. Sorry Nevis - St. Kitts heard you got some of it.  On May 29th, another explosion occurred sending an ash cloud 10,000 ft in the air, Hot smile emoticon got lucky that day, winds were blowing to the south-west, keeping the ash behind us so I did not have to clean any up. Party smile emoticon.  So the bet is which will pop first the volcano's dome or my sanity.  I hate cleaning up ash, it is sooooo nasty.
I have added some pictures of the events. May 13  I took the pictures but the event on the 29th I was to busy watching to make sure that it was staying behind us. Standing there in a dilemma should I cover the plants, no it is going to Plymouth, yes cover, no don't need too. So I missed the opportunity to get the camera. Lucky me, Beth Breuer had the sense (she was not busy talking to herself) to get  her camera and got the pictures of the 29th, Thank You Beth. 
So goes the life on an island with an active volcano. Such fun Eye-rolling smile emoticon.   
 
BE PREPARED & BE SAFE
Tina
 
 
May 13, 2008 ash raining down
May 13, 2008 more ash
May 13, 2008 ash cloud
May 29, 2008 photo by Beth Breuer
May 29, 2008 photo by Beth Breuer
May 29, 2008 photo by Beth Breuer
 

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