Caribbean Hurricane Network

- Updates from the Islands -

| home | satellite | tools | pleas for help | guide | climatology | archive

2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season
| Alberto | Beryl | Chris | Debby | Ernesto | Francine | Gordon | Helene | Isaac | Joyce | Kirk | Leslie | Milton | Nadine | Oscar | Patty | Rafael | Sara | Tony | Valerie | William |

Active Tropical Systems: Hurricane Rafael
Atlantic Hurricane Season is from June 1 - November 30


GOES Satellite - Zoomed in on the Caribbean (23:00 UTC, 19 minutes ago)
Scale bar (lower right) is 250 miles. [more satellite imagery].
See storm-centered satellite image and loop in the tools section below (if available)

Rafael tools:

Wednesday, November 6, 2024 12:33PM EST - Late season Rafael

Good morning,

Thank you Gert for covering for me while the flu is covering me and my wife as well.

Hurricane Rafael, a relatively rare storm not only this late in the season but also in intensity took its sweet time percolating to the south of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands now putting on quite the show and a dangerous one at that. Having given Jamaica a glancing blow as a TS, then powering into the Caymans as a strengthening hurricane, his eyes are now set on western Cuba and the Isle of Youth, which during various preceding years has been a hurricane magnet itself like Bermuda.

Currently located approx. 120 miles SSE of Havana moving at a moderate 14mph, Rafael is approaching and expected to attain Cat 3 major status before landfall in western Cuba. Hurricane hunters found a double eyewall which is interesting yet a bit scary at 960mb and dropping. At the moment, the only silver lining is this system is not yet completely symmetrical like a buzzsaw and the hurricane force winds stretch out only 15 miles in diameter meaning a small core of the most damaging winds. Storm surge, flash flooding, coastal erosion will occur. The other real damaging threat from Rafael to Cuba is damaging or destroying an already compromised electrical infrastructure which has disrupted Cuba's island wide electrical grid leaving many without power numerous times.

While over Cuba and pulling away headed into the SE Gulf of Mexico, TS force winds are expected to reach the Florida Keys where Key West to the middle keys are under a TS warning since TS winds are stretching out 115 miles at this point, yet not in all quadrants. Once in the Gulf, Rafael has a limited opportunity to restrengthen, possibly back up to Cat 2 status as a threat to oil rigs (not good), the fishes and some shipping. Track wise, at first, Louisiana was in the bullseye but now, expected to turn more to the west then NW. Rapid weakening is expected after the next 48-72 hours which means Rafael may longer be a named system, only a remnant upon landfall, probably around Texas but too soon to tell.

Elsewhere, there's a mess right now to the NE of the northern Antilles which has limited potential down the road as it migrates towards the west. NHC says a 30% chance after 7 days. It will be tough for the next few though as wind shear is above moderate but the sledding might get easier once past north of PR and the VI's on the way to the southern Bahamas and Turks/Caicos. Might be a sneaky system so eyes wide open, not shut as vigilance is still in vogue for the next few weeks.

Stay safe and prepared.

Dave

Monday, November 4, 2024 15:04PM PST - Rafael
Invest 97L is now Tropical Storm Rafael, the 17th of the season. It will reach Jamaica tonight and be near Cayman late Tuesday. Tropical storm warning is in effect for Jamaica, and a hurricane warning for Cayman. Tropical storm watches have also been issued for western Cuba, western Key West and Dry Tortugas.

Rafael is expected to become a hurricane within 24 hours, and might strengthen to a Category 2 the next day. When Rafael passes Cayman it is expected to be 'just' a Category 1 storm. However, since conditions are pretty favorable for intensification (above normal sea surface temperature, low wind shear and high moisture), I would not be surprised it the storm will be stronger than forecasted. When Rafael is in the Gulf, it will encounter more adverse conditions, so I don't expect a major (Category 3+) to hit the US.

Rain will be widespread however. Esp. for Hispaniola, with the other system passing to the north, and saturating the grounds, this could be a one-two punch. Jamaica is also expected to get locally up to 9" (220mm) of rain, which can cause flooding and mud slides in the hilly terrain. Stay safe! -Gert

Saturday, November 2, 2024 15:45PM PDT - Rain, rain, rain
A wave is passing through the northern islands as we speak. It is not expected to develop into something, but it will produce a lot of rain over the next couple of days. Esp. the Dominican Republic and Haiti should pay attention, since they usually don't cope too well with a lot of rain.

Elsewhere we have Tropical Storm Patty. It is close to the western Azores, so far from us. It is also moving towards the east, away from us. Patty is aiming for Europe, similar to Kirk a while ago. But by that time it should have weakened to a depression, still a lot of rain though...

Finally, last but for sure not least, in the southwestern Caribbean Sea is the next invest, 97L. The NHC gives it a pretty high chance of developing into something by tomorrow. It might even become a late season hurricane since sea water temperatures are still well above normal. The Hurricane Hunters are going to investigate Sunday. Models have it loop north over Jamaica and then eastward over Cuba into the Gulf of Mexico. So people on Jamaica and the Cayman's should definitely pay close attention to this one! See the link for the 'spaghetti plots' above. Stay safe! -Gert

Saturday, October 19, 2024 19:17PM EDT - Surprise Surprise Surprise

Good evening,

Dual surprises have occurred although one was somewhat expected and the other was really not expected. This goes to show, the Earth and climate are not always in sync with computer models and will do what they want regardless of what is predicted. It also goes to show, never trust a CV seeded system no matter what time of hurricane season.

Tiny Hurricane Oscar, who probably will win the Oscar for most surprising late season appearance at the 2024 ceremonies, rose from basically a non entity, fighting dry air all the way across the MDR from Africa, passing by the Northern Lesser Antilles, still as a non entity, then morphing rapidly from a wave to a hurricane in less than 12 hours having finally escaped the clutches of late season Saharan Dust.

Tiny as in really tiny for a hurricane as far as they eye is concerned at the moment, measuring only approx. 5 miles in diameter but packing 85 mph winds in that small core. Hurricane Hunters scrambled this morning to put an initial mission together to investigate Oscars rapid strengthening phase which saw Oscar rise from a tropical depression to hurricane status in just under 3 hours which is the fastest intensification ever recorded.

A direct and now impactful, already occurring threat to the low lying Turks and Caicos, Oscar has the potential to be a devastating storm with storm surge, wind impacts, plus the obvious factor of little warning to those residents for preparations. Normally, you sometimes have days to prepare.. These residents had less than a few hours! The northeastern portion of Cuba, already facing several and continuing nationwide blackouts, have hurricane watches up. Unless Oscar does a right turn Clyde moment when anticipated, Oscar will visit that section of Cuba before eventually turning abruptly N then NE.

Oscar could turn into a major down the road. Virtually none of the models or humans foresaw hurricane formation occurring, not to mention the RI factor. Originally Oscar was forecast to MAYBE make a small name for himself as a possible mid grade TS turning WSW into the Caribbean. Now, a hurricane and, while still with a WSW component, forecast to do an about face the other direction. The southeastern Bahamas are also under a hurricane warning. Bermuda might see some watches with a visit from Oscar later on as well.

TS Nadine also finally formed but plowed into Belize as a 60 mph system before attaining hurricane status. This transformation was reasonably expected, however, she was on the rise quickly as well. Good thing land got in the way. Bad thing is the heavy rains and flooding which will occur while she rapidly dissipates, maybe temporarily, over Central America. Possible she re-emerges into the Pacific and regenerates into a hurricane. Time will tell.

Off to the east, any threat coming off the African coast is being decapitated by wind shear so for now, the MDR is finally quiet.

Stay safe and prepared. November still might be interesting.

Dave.

P.S. I see Gert beat me to the post LOL so if I repeat something he shared, not a bad thing.

Saturday, October 19, 2024 14:04PM PDT - Two named storms
It didn't look like either of the waves would get their act together before making landfall or else, but now we have Nadine and Oscar. Nadine is the system we were watching in the western Caribbean. It has now made landfall close to Belize City earlier this morning as a tropical storm. Main hazard is the rainfall associated with this system, not only in Belize but also the Yucatan Peninsula and other places in Mexico as it moves further inland.

The second storm has surprise, surprise, just been upgraded to a hurricane. Although it is a tiny one. Hurricane warnings have been issued for the Turks and Caicos and southeastern Bahamas. The situation in the TCI will actually deteriorate fast. Main hazards are not only the wind and rainfall, but also the storm surge. It will move towards Cuba, which will probably not help with the power outages over there... People in the Bahamas, take note of the track, even though it seems to be moving west, nicely south of you, don't be fooled. It is expected to make a sharp turn north at some point. Check out the Closest Point of Approach tool. Stay safe everybody! -Gert

... Older discussions >>

Current Tropical Weather Outlook (NHC/TPC):
Accompanying satellite image (pop-up, source: NHC)
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL
100 PM EST Thu Nov 7 2024

For the North Atlantic...Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico:

Active Systems:
The National Hurricane Center is issuing advisories on Hurricane 
Rafael, located over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico.

Near the Leeward Islands:
A trough of low pressure over the northern Leeward Islands continues 
to produce disorganized showers and thunderstorms. Some gradual 
development of this system is possible during the next couple of 
days while it moves westward near the Greater Antilles. Regardless 
of development, locally heavy rains are possible across the northern 
Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, and 
the southeastern Bahamas through Saturday.
* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...20 percent.
* Formation chance through 7 days...low...20 percent.

$$
Forecaster Bucci
More detail in the Tropical Weather Discussion or view the Graphicast Image

- - - Do you live in the Caribbean? - - -
Join our team of special local hurricane correspondents.


   stormCARIB is brought to you by GoBeach Vacations   
- Your Accommodation Specialist for the Caribbean -


stormCARIB is hosted
at and supported by
pairNetworks

Support stormCARIB
-- Donations needed --

Latest local updates from the special
hurricane correspondents on the islands:
- St.Croix [Nov 6 22:55]
- Cayman Islands [Nov 6 16:40]
- Jamaica [Nov 6 8:41]
- Trinidad & Tobago [Nov 4 22:43]
- Bermuda [Nov 4 15:35]
- St.Thomas [Nov 3 19:13]
- Nevis [Nov 1 11:27]
- Puerto Rico [Oct 31 14:32]
- Saba [Oct 31 10:07]
- Haiti [Oct 30 8:38]
- Barbados [Oct 25 20:23]
- Bahamas [Oct 21 12:43]
- Turks & Caicos [Oct 21 9:24]
- Dominica [Oct 19 21:06]
- Antigua [Oct 15 6:32]
- Aruba [Oct 11 16:07]
- Dominican Republic [Oct 8 22:23]
- Mexico (incl. Cozumel & Cancun) [Oct 8 0:30]
- Montserrat [Oct 7 19:21]
- Tortola & Virgin Gorda [Oct 1 8:13]
- Vieques (PR) [Aug 14 20:22]
- St.Maarten/St.Martin [Aug 13 20:23]
- Anguilla [Aug 13 15:43]
- St.Vincent & Grenadines [Jul 21 19:38]
- Relief Efforts/Where to Donate [Jul 11 14:32]
- Grenada [Jul 7 6:43]
- St.Lucia [Jul 2 9:55]

Only reports received for this season are listed. See the archive for previous years.

Links to excellent websites:
- Navy/NRL Monterey
- NOAA/NESDIS (floater loops)
- RAMSDIS Imagery
- Radar Composite - E-Carib.
- Caribbean/Atl. buoy data
- RT model guidance (RAL/NCAR)
- STORM2K forum
- Tracking Waves (McNoldy)
- Tang/UAlbany (model tracks)
- tropicaltidbits.com
- weathernerds.org (ensembles)
- CIMSS/U.Wisc-Mad
- Brammer/UAlbany
- ECMWF Model Forecast
- Jeff Masters Blog
- Brian McNoldy Blog
- Michael Lowry's Blog
- zoom.earth hurricane tracker
- more...

Storm definitions by wind speed:
- Tropical Depression <39mph
- Tropical Storm 39-73mph
- Cat.1 Hurricane 74-95mph
- Cat.2 Hurricane 96-110mph
- Cat.3 Hurricane 111-129mph
- Cat.4 Hurricane 130-156mph
- Cat.5 Hurricane >=157mph
More info in the Practical Guide

Wind force relative to Category 1:
- Tropical Storm 39mph: 0.28x
- Cat.1 Hurricane 74mph: 1x
- Cat.2 Hurricane 96mph: 1.7x
- Cat.3 Hurricane 111mph: 2.3x
- Cat.4 Hurricane 130mph: 3.1x
- Cat.5 Hurricane 157mph: 4.5x
- Irma 185mph: 6.3x



- - - Local hurricane correspondents wanted! - - -

The local hurricane correspondents are the heart and soul of stormCARIB. They are the people who live on the island and write to us what is going on around them. First hand very local personal reports instead of very limited or sensationalized coverage by the general media. Do you live on one of the islands? We need your help! We are looking for more people who are interested in sending us a few paragraphs about the situation on your island before, during and after a storm hits. You don't need to be a weatherman or expert on the subject, just share with us what you know, feel and see on your island. Your help will be really appreciated by Caribbean people living abroad with family living on the islands, future visitors who have their Caribbean dream-vacation booked, etc.etc. Reliable, not-sensationalized information is just so hard to get in crisis situations. Help keep the rest of the world up-to-date with what is really happening! We really need you, Georges back in 1998, and many others since then are proof! If interested, contact gert@gobeach.com.


WHAT TO FIND ON StormCARIB.com:
This website is all about the Caribbean. Here you can find information, weather discussions and local reports regarding tropical systems threatening the Caribbean islands. A central part of this website is the volunteer network of special local hurricane correspondents, living on the islands, who will report, when need be, on how it looks and feels like around them. Above also hopefully easy to understand weather discussions by me and Dave. In addition, as an aid in locating family or friends on the islands in an emergency situation you can post your 'plea for help' on the bulletin board. Also featured on this website is the Quick Hurricane Web Resource Navigator, for easy locating to the least overloaded webserver for National Hurricane Center advisories and the latest satellite images. Another part of the Caribbean Hurricane Network is the 'practical guide' to hurricane tracking with unit conversions, definitions, tips, links, etc. You can also find out how close the storm is and how many hours you have left to prepare plus you can map the closest point of approach of a hurricane to your location. New is the climatology of Caribbean hurricanes section. Find out when the real peak of hurricane season is for individual islands, view hurricane tracks passing by the islands over the last 150+ years. An archive with detailed reports of how the Caribbean islands fared during the 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 (incl. Frances and Ivan), 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999 (incl. Floyd and Lenny), 1998 (incl. Georges and Mitch), 1997 and 1996 seasons are still available as well. Plus there is more, like storm-centered satellite images, make your own local satellite loop, etc. Hope you find the information on this website (now counting over thousands pages with original content) helpful. Comments always welcome! RSS web feed available. As a side note I am now accepting donations as well. Thanks for visiting!

Maintained & moderated by: Gert van Dijken (gert@gobeach.com).
Weather discussions also by Dave McDermott, St.Thomas, USVI.


GoBeach Vacations
- Your source for the best Caribbean vacation you've ever had! -
www.gobeach.com | info@gobeach.com

Back to top | home | tools | pleas for help | QHWRN | guide | climatology | archive

Disclaimer
The information on these pages is derived from weather statements provided by the National Weather Service, the National Hurricane Center, and others, and from hurricane correspondents in the Caribbean. I tried to translate the official weather statements in more layman's terms. Also, I tried to fill the gap in reporting on what is happening in the Caribbean, instead of the US (there are already many other good website which focus on the US). Keep in mind that my statements are my own interpretations from the information available to me. Therefore, use the information at your own risk, and above all, don't use these webpages for making life-or-death decisions, always rely on the official and qualified authorities! Accuracy of eye-witness reports by the special hurricane correspondents have not been checked. They may be highly subjective. The author can not be held responsible for lost property, ruined vacations and the like. Despite all this I hope you found the webpage informative and useful. These pages do not have a commercial intent. GoBeach Vacations provided the means and opportunity to start all this. 'Unfortunately' this website has become too popular, placing too much load on the gobeach.com webservers. Luckily, starting in 2000, my excellent webhost provider, pairNetworks, liked my website so much that they support services whenever they can. Comments are always welcome. Just send a note to gert@gobeach.com. Gert