Joyce, which was an 80 knot hurricane until last Friday morning, arrived
over the southeastern Caribbean on Sunday morning. Since it was
predicted to move toward the west northwest, watches of warnings were
never issued for the islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. The lighter
winds well south of the circulation center would remain too light to
justify these. Since the shift from a westerly to west northwesterly
track however didn't materialize until Sunday morning, forecasters in
Curaçao were ready to issue those (watches or warnings) as soon as
necessary.
Joyce however weakened Sunday afternoon to a tropical depression and on
Monday morning to a tropical wave. The "Southern Caribbean Graveyard"
has once again forced another tropical cyclone into submission. It was a
close call but the warnings, thank God, were not necessary. Only a small
craft warning was issued on Sunday afternoon just in case strong
southeasterly winds might cause rough seas.
Skies clouded up early Monday morning and it started to rain around 8
A.M. The rain was quite heavy at times with some occasional thunder.
Rainfall amounts however were not unusually high (20 to 40 mm) but still
very welcome. Strong winds were not recorded at the airport in Curaçao
although a few gusts to a little more than 20 knots were observed during
the heavier showers. After the showers ended, the winds in Bonaire and
Curaçao became light from the southwest after blowing first from
easterly or variable directions. They are expected to become
southeasterly and easterly as the remnants of Joyce move away toward the
west.
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