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- - - 2011 Hurricane Season - - -

- Rain, "Dry Season" and Bridges
  • By nada sonia <nadasonia825 at gmail.com>
  • Date: Sun, 6 May 2012 21:19:04 -0400
Was there really a dry season?  If the meter stick used is the number of bush fires (minor) and the PR from the PR from our water utility, WASCO, informing residents in the north of the island of imminent water rationing, then maybe.  I'll say not really, chalk it up to climate change and climate adaptation (or lack thereof).  The water level at the John Compton Dam was low due to the high level of silt, yet to be removed after Hurricane Tomas in 2010 (That's one of our dots to connect on 350). We have had a few days of blazing hot sun and quite a few days of "scattered showers".

Today was different, more rainy-season-like, as the day started out overcast (as in the past 2 or 3 days) with a few patches of blue (considerably less blue today though) and then the heavens opened up.  Seems like it has been raining for the entire day, varying in intensity from torrential to misting.  As I type, there is a low rumble and a constant pitter-patter on the galvanized roof.  Residents up north welcome the rain (sort of) as it should help ease the water rationing.

On the other hand, in my part of the country, we like a little rain to cool off and tamper down the dust but too much is not welcome.  Any sort of heavy rainfall on island means I will definitely get a few calls with one question being asked, "What is the rain doing to you in Soufriere?".  You see, I live in this newly created "flood zone" (that by the way is my label, not an official designation) following Hurricane Tomas or arguably TS Debbie because, in my layman's point of view, the river has never been properly desilted since TS Debbie and has continued accumulating sediment.  Since then, the river has broken its banks several times flooding the street in front of the Soufriere Hospital.  People kept on blaming a center column of one pedestrian bridge (which trapped debris and tree trunks) for causing the floods so the bridge was redesigned and rebuilt.  However, I keep saying and will continue to say, raising the height of the bridges will not stop the river from breaking its banks if it is not desilted properly.  And by properly I mean the entire length of the river should be dredged to a depth of at least 20ft.

If the problem with one bridge was solved, another was created.  The main bridge in Soufriere has been redesigned and the level of the road has been raised effectively taking away the natural gradient that allowed flood waters to drain into the sea. Should the river break its bank at the wrong point and flood the street in front of the Soufriere Hospital, houses that have never been flooded in my area will definitely get flooded.  Some optimists have told me, "the river will not flood the street again!" Wish I could take that to the bank!

What I will take to the bank, well not the bank but a relative's house, is anything that can be moved in preparation for any hurricane, storm, depression or super soaker this hurricane season.  So I have revised my hurricane checklist to include: move bed, chairs, ... basically move house!  Yes, I am seriously considering doing that - moving!

If you have not done so, start getting ready, Hurricane Season '12 is a few weeks away.

Stay Safe
~Nadia

ps. I will take some pictures to show the before (and post, God forbid that I am right, if there is an after).  I think a river walk is called for to document the depth of the river.  Stay tuned.

- HOT HOT HOT
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Fri, 4 May 2012 12:51:11 -0400
Well, the rain and grey clouds have moved out and it is HOT HOT HOT! Seems the rain took the breeze with it. It is a beautiful day out - sunny clear blue skies - and HOT! Very little breeze down here in the south at all right now. Personally - I'll take the breeze and partly cloudy skies over this hot, still, humid air. But - that's me! I am sure our visitors are happy to see this sun!
Jazz on the Square in Vieux Fort town tonight - looking forward to another evening of good music and good friends and good food! O love this time of year - music all over the island, mangos falling off the trees, weather still pretty decent - it's great!
Have a great day and stay safe out there!

- Sun/Rain/Sun/Rain
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Thu, 3 May 2012 12:44:09 -0400
Greetings! Well, it did dry out for Jazz on the beach this past Tuesday - it was great! Lots of good music, great food, beautiful setting - and dry! Then about 30 seconds after the MC closed the event and said goodbye - deluge! It rained for about 15 minutes - great way to clear the venue and send eveyone home! Was dry again for the rest of the night.
Yesterday (Wed) was somewhat overcast, but still hot and dry here in the south. Could have used a shower or 2 to break the humidity. Today we are looking at another mix of sun and showers - the showers are definitely a welcome relief from the humidity of the last few days - makes it feel very fresh. It is still hot hot hot though! We've had a few showers and a few hours of bright sun - an interesting mix. I love the weather down here - "Just wait 5 minutes and it changes!"
All in all - it's another day in paradise - how bad can it be?!?
Stay safe out there - enjoy your day!

- Rain!
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:30:22 -0400
Well - the last week/10 days has been absolutely bone dry and beautiful here in the south of the island. Most of the island has actually been very dry all season- enough so that the lone water company has actually started light rationing with the possibility of more to come if we don't have some signifigant rain soon.
An lo and behold - starting around midnight last night - RAIN! And it has been grey and rainy since then. St. Lucia Jazz is supposed to be opening tonight and I am very sure they are having some rain showers in the north also. Tomorrow (Tuesday) is Jazz by the Beach here in the south - I am guessing it will be like last year - wet and not very well attended. We'll still be there in the cheap flip flops and all - ready for some great music!
While I know the rain is not what visitors want to see here in paradise - we who actually live here in paradise are very, very happy to see it! It's filling those water tanks, filling those rivers and filling those resevoirs -hopefully no major rationing will need to be done before June!!! Based on what I can see on the satellite pics, this will be gone by tomorrow - but while it's happening - this rain is very welcome!!!
Will keep you posted. Stay safe out there!

- Finally!
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Mon, 5 Dec 2011 13:43:18 -0500
Yeah - finally - after more than a week of grey and gloom and rain - we have sunshine! And sunshine with a vengeance! There is not a cloud to be seen in the sky here in the south in any direction. It is bright and sunny and hot! There is a nice light breeze that helps with the temp somewhat, but the sun is definitely back! Here's hoping it helps with drying out the flooded communities and gives us a reprieve for some laundry and general clean up.
Today, round 3 of laundry is in the machine - I have no idea how it will fit on the overcrowded lines, but I will make it work. I have already made a pitcher of orange/grapefruit juice with the fruit from the yard and hubby is out there, knocking back the overgrown weeds that are encroaching from the neighbors untended yard and blocking our sea view. Tonight, lamb chops with fresh mint from the garden and rum punch with fresh sqeezed juice!
Have a great day and stay safe out there!

- Dry
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Fri, 2 Dec 2011 11:59:30 -0500
It looks like the rain has finally given us a break for today here in the south of the island! It has been a wet week - almost as if the hurricane season didn't want to go! It has finally dried out today, although we still have some partly grey skies and high clouds out there - and it is very still and humid!!! Personally, I would rather have the rain than this! Although, there are parts of the island that probably doesn't want to see another drop of rain for a good long while! Soufriere suffered horribly from the recent rain, with massive flooding, landslides and the river jumping it's banks. For a community that was hard hit by Tomas last year, this was a flashback they didn't need. It will take a long time to dig out from this one. There was also some flooding again in Dennery and Bexon, but that was not as bad as on the West Coast in Soufriere. With the rain, of course, comes water supply problems all over the island. Lots of areas without water - and no official word on when it will be restored. Nothing new here!!! We could use some drying out time to get everything cleaned back up!
As for our elections, the final counts and re-counts have been completed and the offical results are in: St. Lucia Labor Party 11 - United Workers Party 6. So, we have changed governments from UWP to SLP. The new Prime Minister was sworn in this week and seems ready to get to work. We'll see if there is much change between the 2 parties!
 
All in all, looks like I'll be able to get some laundry done today and maybe get some yardwork done tomorrow. Have a great day out there and stay safe!
 

- Still raining
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Mon, 28 Nov 2011 11:10:22 -0500
Well, looks like the late, late season storm caught us after all. It is still raining off and on here in the south of the island - mostly just short showers, but it is grey and breezy out there. It will make standing in line to vote much more comfotable than blazing sun though - so Looshans are thankful for that!!! Hopefully, it will also help discourage some of those hot political fevers out there!
Be careful out there - 2 days of rains here usually means some flooded roads and loose hillsides - take it easy! Will report back with results when they are available!

- late season wetness!
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Sun, 27 Nov 2011 11:54:25 -0500
Well, well, well, woke up this morning to grey skies and rain - and it hasn't stopped! There has been a steady, medium rain all morning today and looks like it will continue for a while. We had some rain yesterday morning here in the south, but it cleared up in the afternoon and we had a lovely sunset and dry night for the last of the huge political rallies around here! I understand the north saw some rain still last night, but down here was great.
Then, boom, this morning has brought on the rain for us! Looking at the sat pictures, it appears we will be seeing the rain all day. That's ok, perfect weather to watch some NFL and hopefully it will help damp down the election fever in advance of voting tomorrow! And hopefully, it will pass by tomorrow so we are not all standing in line in the rain!!!!
Be careful out there and have a great day!!!!

- Happy Thanksgiving to our US Friends
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2011 12:40:24 -0500
Happy Thanksgiving to our US Friends~ We hope you are having a wonderful holiday.
For us down here, it is another day in paradise. We have had a few showers this morning and early afternoon and have a fair amount of scattered clouds that look like they will give us some off and on short showers all day. No big deal, helps with the hubby being outside and pruning away on the fruit trees - today the cherry tree is getting it's cutting. Me - inside on this lovely day, baking and watching NFL - another thanks to the US for giving us Thursday football!!
All in all, it's been pretty beautiful around here the last week or so, a few heavy short showers and the rest - sunshine!! It really has been beautiful for the last week or so here in the south.
Have a wonderful holidays all you who celebrate this day and be safe out there!

- Rainy
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2011 11:06:34 -0500
It was a rainy night and very cool and breezy- felt great! Lots of rain, at times a few heavy showers, but mostly regular rain. Still cloudy and grey out today, am expecting more rain showers during the day. That is an ugly looking bit of clouds off to our east - but still a ways out, so who knows if it will bring us much more than some showers.
In the meantime, it's lovely and cool here, ground is softened up and the rain has stopped for the moment - time to get some weeds up in that garden!
Be careful out there and have a great day!

- Tragedy in Fair Helen
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Sat, 12 Nov 2011 00:25:51 -0500

- tragedy in Fair Helen
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Sat, 12 Nov 2011 00:24:51 -0500
We have had some beautiful weather the last few days, yet again. Blue skies, light breezes, fluffy clouds and occasional showers to brighten everything up - everything that's great about the weather and beauty of the Caribbean.
Unfortunately, there's also the bad in the Caribbean and last night (Thursday, Nov 10) tragedy struck Fair St. Helen with a tragic car accident and death of 17 people in a van on the way home from a funeral. Somehow, the van seemed to lose control and veered of the road and over a cliff - killing all onboard. It has been a traumatic day for the whole island, but none more than the family members of those who lost their loved ones in the crash - and were already mourning the loss of another loved one at a funeral earlier in the day.
Attached is a link to an article about the crash from the Dominican newspaper - our papers will have details out this weekend. Truly tragic and somehow - the bright sunshine today has seemd to have a cruel edge. This is a weekend for mourning here on the island- is somehow seems the skies should be crying and pouring rain with the families.
Please folks, be careful out there this weekend. A tragic reminder that we don't know our appointed time.

- Beautiful
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Mon, 7 Nov 2011 13:48:49 -0500
It has been beautiful here in the south of St. Lucia! The last few days have seen lots of sunshine, hot sun and light clouds with a gentle ocean breeze to keep things more comfortable. Great weather all around - just wish I could be out and enjoying it! A few more days and I can be out and around again after my accident. Can't wait!
We did see some rain on Friday - mostly just a few short showers, although the overnight saw a fairly heavy downpour. Brightened everything up and we were back to sunshine!
All in all, it has so far shaped up to be a pretty quiet rainy season for us - no tropical storms or hurricanes and only some minor flooding. Here's hoping we can fis even that during this upcoming dry season!
Have a great day out there and stay safe - lift a glass for me!

- Beautiful Kweyol Weekend!
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Sat, 29 Oct 2011 14:38:16 -0400
Bon Jour! It is a beautiful day here in St. Lucia for Kweyol weekend. We had a lot of rain overnight - mostly in shower burts, but the tank is definitely filled, the sky is scrubbed clean and the clouds are big and fluffy once again. Seems to be a very comfortable temp out there with a nice, off the ocean breeze to keep it comfy. All in all, looks like it should be some great weather for the weekend celebrations. A vast improvement over last year's cancelled celebrations due to the devastation of Tomas!
Unfortunately, hubby & I will not be able to participate this year. Last week, I sustained some pretty decent injuries in a fall in a hotel shower where the glass shower door shattered and left me with some pretty deep cuts. Fortunately, nothing serious or life-threatening, no face injuries or anything too bad, but over 50 stitches and lots of pain and stiffness. While the stitches are out and I am recovering well, I can't imagine the idea of being in the crowds tomorrow with the injuries to my side or hand or foot. One step on my foot and that would be that!
So, we will be celebrating at home with a traditional meal cooked by the hubby ( I am not allowed in the kitchen yet!) and hopefully, some visiting with neighbors - and of course, some NFL football (not Kweyol, I know, but hey - I'll take what I can get!)
Have a great weekend wherevr you may be and enjoy yourselves! Be safe out there!

- Well, it happened....
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2011 12:12:11 -0400
Yes, it had to end at some point. The beautiful weather was rudely interuppted yesterday (Wed.) by a full, solid day of rain and grey skies and much needed cooler weather. The rain was great - really perked up the garden. And the wind that came with was very much appreciated - definitely cooled out the heat of the last week. It seems to have passed for the time being. Today is mostly sunny with a great breeze that is keeping the heat down and some higher clouds. Although, as I look north towards the rainforest, they do have some grey, heavy looking clouds passing over. Here in the south though, it is looking to be a mostly sunny with high clouds and wonderful breezes - a great day to be outside! Enjoy your day out there!

- Picture Perfect
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2011 18:06:00 -0400
Today was another picture perfect day here in the south end of the island. Once again, felt like it could almost be winter already - beautiful blue skies, light breezes, high clouds, all in all a great day to get some work done in the yard and once again appreciate how beautiful this island can be! It was a wonderful weekend and looks like the weather may keep up at least another day, maybe 2. Who knows. We will take what we can get for the sunshine, but also know that we always need the rain - we definitely do not want a repeat of the drought of '09-'10. Enough on that nasty thought! Looks like maybe a bankd of showers tomorrow evening, which is always refreshing, but - at least so far - nothing looking very threatening for us around here.
Hope you all had a wonderful weekend, and have a blessed week - and stay safe out there!

- Beautiful!
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Sun, 9 Oct 2011 13:01:29 -0400
Well, kids,it has been a beautiful weekend so far! We have had several picture perfect days in a row here in the south with only a short, 15 minute shower late last night. It has been clear, sunny, warm with big fluffy clouds and a great breeze - perfect! today is a beach BBQ for a friend's birthday followed by Sunday afternoon football with another BBQ by the house. Busy busy!! Thank goodness for the great weather. Enjoy your day out there and be safe!!!!

- Beautiful Weather!
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Mon, 19 Sep 2011 21:13:24 -0400
Today was absolutely beautiful here in the south! clear blue skies with some high clouds and nice breeze to keep things somewhat cooled off - it was simply lovely  - and apparently every bug on the island was taking advantage of the sunshine! Needless to say, the mosquitos and other flyers were out in force today, especially after the off and on wet weather of the last few days.
The heavy showers yesterday (sunday) morning and early afternoon left the island with some heavy flooding both in the north along flood-prone Bexon (and the highway) and in the Eastern and southern communities of Micoud and Laborie. Fortunately, no loss of life or injuries, however lots of property damage and mud everywhere! Turns out the highway up north was flooded deep enough to cause several busloads of tourists on the way to the airport to turn back - not sure if they ended up missing their flights or if they were able to get through on the west coast road. The news never quite finishes their stories!
All in all, it was a beautiful day today, which I am sure helped those communities to dry out and start cleaning up. Looks like tomorrow will be another great day. Definitely keeping our eyes on Invest 98 out to our east - here's hoping it either peters out to nothing or turns north and passes us by. Otherwise, looking forward to a beach day tomorrow and a few Pitons to keep cool!
Stay safe out there and have a great night!

- Invest 98L
  • By The Edge Restaurant <edgerestaurant at gmail.com>
  • Date: Mon, 19 Sep 2011 07:58:43 -0400
From Crown Weather this morning:

"Invest 98L in the Central Atlantic likely to develop into a tropical depression within the next day or so and may affect the Windward Islands, Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago with Tropical Storm conditions by Thursday night and Friday". I will monitor this one closely.

Annika

- Hmm
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Sat, 17 Sep 2011 17:44:01 -0400
Well, while the satellite photos make it look like we should be deluged with rain, here in the south we have barely had a drop. Early this morning, we had a few periods of very heavy showers that lasted maybe 10-15 minutes at a time and since around 9 or so, we haven't had another drop! It has been somewhat overcast with a very light breeze and while it looks like it should be raining, we have had nothing. It has been very comfortable temperature wise, and currently - we have some blue skies, light breeze and the makings of a pretty good sunset. Perhaps we will still see some rain tonight, but I won't hold my breath. Can't say how the rest of the island has fared - looking north, the rainforest - of course - looks like it was getting rain all day, but can't say whether the north or west coast received more rain than we did. My guess would be Soufriere saw a fair amount of rain today - but I could be wrong. Will find out from the news tonight, probably.
All in all, a fine lazy day to watch some college football. Tomorrow, hoping for some sunshine to wash the dogs and get some yard work done before Sunday NFL action gets going.
Stay safe out there and enjoy your weekend!

- Water, water...
  • By Christopher Jenkins <chrissjuk at aol.com>
  • Date: Sat, 17 Sep 2011 12:12:36 -0400
Having escaped Maria, a sneaky little system has dumped rain in occasional heavy showers for the past two days. This morning though the heavens opened and as a storm passed directly overhead we have been deluged with rain. Suspect there is heavy flooding in a number of areas. Whatever system is out there, please pass fast!

Chris Jenkins
www.facebook.com/zaravillas


- Breeze!
  • By benjamin findlay <caribbeankitesurfari at mac.com>
  • Date: Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:00:59 -0400
Not much on the horizon except a wave south of cape verde that isnt looking like becoming anything just yet, BUT still something to watch.
The rolly swells in the bay from the south of east winds have finally gone and its now lovely out here at anchor in Rodney Bay, the breeze is blowing nice from the east today, keeping things a little cooler and wind generator charging batteries. 
Afternoon kitesurf is in order i think.


- Gorgeous!
  • By Susan Beckwith <suebeckwith123 at gmail.com>
  • Date: Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:18:06 -0400
Glorious Weather here in Marigot, blazing sunshine with just a slight cooling breeze and just the odd wispy cloud in the sky!

No sign of anything sinister - long may it continue!

Sue

- Update
  • By The Edge Restaurant <edgerestaurant at gmail.com>
  • Date: Sat, 10 Sep 2011 15:12:48 -0400
I think we had a got bit of rain last night judging of the wetness of the ground in the morning. I slept through the night and did not hear a thing. We saw the sun for a few minutes this morning but after that it has been overcast with only a slight drizzle half an hour ago. The sky has been bluish-grey with big, thick, white clouds sticking up behind the mountains. Really beautiful actually. Now the thunder is starting to rumble again. No wind, it is completely still.


- it took a while~
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Sat, 10 Sep 2011 01:46:21 -0400
Well, it took a while, but seems that tropical storm Maria has finally arrived on our doorstep. It has been dry and quiet since about 4 this afternoon adn we finally decided to head out for some food and drinks with friends. turns out - at least for the south- we had a dry night, enough so that we could see the moon for hours and count some stars! About 12 or so pm, all that changed. We have had a steady rain now since about midnight (it's 1:45am) and a few lightning flashes. No real thunder or storm weather yet - I expect that is on the way! We obviously made it home safe and sound and dry! All of you still out - be careful and go home! For the rest - be dafe out there and check your towel brigades - I expect we will need them tonight!
 

- Update
  • By The Edge Restaurant <edgerestaurant at gmail.com>
  • Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2011 22:38:02 -0400
I can only confirm that nothing is happening in northern St Lucia at the moment. No wind , no rain. We had a lot of rain and strong winds this morning and some rain later in the afternoon but after that it has been very quiet. I'm off to bed now.

Annika

- Lull in the action
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2011 14:46:12 -0400
Here in the south end of the island, we have had a fairly long lull in the action. Rain and wind was squally all night, no long periods of rain, but some short, 10-15 minute bursts with serious strong winds. This monring they taperd off around 8 or 9 or so and it has been dry here since then - until just now, 2:45pm! The rain has started up with a vengeance! It has been thundering for the past half hour, my neighbors dogs - and young son - have been going nuts! Curiously, our 2 dogs have been sleeping through the lull and just now took off for their house. The rain is now pouring down in buckets- it is grey and dark out with loud thunder and lightning. Will be turning off the computers and such after this update - at least until this phase passes. Will update later - stay safe out there!!!

- Tropical Storm Maria
  • By Susan Beckwith <suebeckwith123 at gmail.com>
  • Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2011 13:02:14 -0400
Hi everyone

Well looks like tropical Storm Maria is going to go North of us, more towards Martinique and Dominica which is good, but we should get wind and rain for the next 24 hours.

I lost a Plantain tree this morning, it was a real timber!!!!! The wind caught it and that was it.
A lady a few houses down from me lost the roof to her house in the night and I didnt hear a thing!

It has been raining most of the night and all day today, although at the moment we have a brief respite, it is, however very overcast.

Hoping that Maria doesn't affect too many people.

Keep safe,

Sue

- T.S. Marina
  • By benjamin findlay <caribbeankitesurfari at mac.com>
  • Date: Fri, 09 Sep 2011 06:18:09 -0400
First post for me, i am on a sailboat , CARLA, with my family anchored in Rodney Bay.
It seems according to this mornings forecast, T.S. Maria has made a turn to the north slightly and headed WNW, good news for us here. Hope guys in the leewards are ready.
We have had squally rain since around midnight and it looks like plenty more rain to come from what i see on the radar.
we are expecting a large swell to start building later this morning, hopefully some more surfing this weekend !
CARLA is just now headed for the calm of IGY Marina moorings inside the lagoon for a calm night or 2, strong southerlies (tomorrow), squalls and NE swell makes for a pretty uncomfortable time out here. 

Ben


- 5.0 Earthquake and a TS
  • By nada sonia <nadasonia825 at gmail.com>
  • Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2011 07:20:44 -0400
Morning all (can't say good because by the looks of it things will get bad in the islands),

Maria seems to be getting her act together this morning. I hope she keeps rehearsing and does not get crowned until she clears all the islands.

It was windy and rained a good bit last night. The Soufriere hospital is undergoing some renovations (it voting season silly) and the sheet of plastic draped in the front kept rustling I thought it would have been blown away by daylight.  Its still there though.  This morning about 5:50 we had a gust of wind and I heard the sound of a sheet of galvanize roofing slam against a wall. It might have been a gate blown though.  The dark grey clouds are moving south west (from the mountains in the north east and blowing rather quickly over the Piton) but the rain has stopped for now. We're in a clear spot judging by the Martinique radar.

The other news for now is that I felt a tremor a few minutes past 6am this morning.  My neighbour did not but a few persons also felt it.  USGS confirmed a 5.0 earthquake between Martinique and Dominica.  http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc0005riy.php



Maria should not take us by surprise even though St. Lucia Met Office has not issued a TS watch or warning for us as yet (Confucius some help here) because Juk Bois (a local radio DJ has already alerted us of some power outages in the north of the island.

Stay safe and dry everyone.

~Sonia


- Maria
  • By "Frans F. van Santbrink" <j69ds at candw.lc>
  • Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2011 06:29:05 -0430
Maria seems to be set on drenching us at the very least. Been raining most of 
the night and towards the morning the winds picked up to a stiff breeze. I just 
Maria stays on that slight northernly track and does not develop any further!
People in low lying areas better be aware and ready just in case Maria gets to 
be mischieveous...
My ham radios all work have water n food so we good for now      

God bless,
Frans van Santbrink,
1(758) 7153129

Sent from my iPhone

- Maria
  • By The Edge Restaurant <edgerestaurant at gmail.com>
  • Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2011 06:23:53 -0400
Woke up early this morning by gusty winds and rain. The rain is coming down much heavier now. There are much higher gusts than I have experienced any time so far this season. The system looks huge on the satellite images and as we know it is not always the wind but the rain that can cause the most damage, especially with tropical storms. I think some may be caught by surprise by this one. No thunder or lightning yet but the lights starts flickering now so I think I will turn off the computer for a while. Be prepared to the north and north west!

- Maria, Lucia
  • By nada sonia <nadasonia825 at gmail.com>
  • Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2011 14:50:33 -0400
We started out the season wet and asked for some sun.  We got it, really HOT blazing sunshine, perfect beach weather for the end of summer vacation.  Now that school has restarted, the skies opened up again (I'm sure this reflects the mood of some students).  Whilst the north and south of the island remained dry this entire time, Soufriere got some decent rain for a few days last week and all this week mainly during the early morning.  We had some heavy thunder showers during the day on Sep. 3rd.

It has been overcast for almost the entire day and we just had a shower to lower the temp a bit.  The veil is descending on the mountains again... - is this the prelude to Maria?  I know a few people named Maria (hey sis) and they are gentle ladies hopefully TS Maria is too.

Even though this storm derailed off the forecast tracks and we might have very short notice should Maria stay on its present course, I think the majority of St. Lucians have gone through the foul weather drill enough this season so they should be prepared

NHC Intermediate Advisory 8A
TROPICAL STORM MARIA INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY NUMBER   8A
NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL       AL142011
200 PM AST THU SEP 08 2011
 
...MARIA NOT WELL ORGANIZED AT THIS TIME...
  
SUMMARY OF 200 PM AST...1800 UTC...INFORMATION
----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...13.0N 52.0W
ABOUT 605 MI...975 KM E OF THE WINDWARD ISLANDS
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...40 MPH...65 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...W OR 270 DEGREES AT 22 MPH...35 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...1006 MB...29.71 INCHES

Stay safe and dry!

~Sonia

- Rain, finally!
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2011 13:29:13 -0400
Well, looks like we are finally in for some tropical weather. The last 2 weeks have been simply gorgeous here - cloudless blue skies, hot sun - all in all, gorgeous Caribbean days and nights - although with no breeze, so HOT! Finally last night saw a break in the heat with soe heavy showers early morning here in the South and a few showers later this morning. We currently have some high clouds and a breeze, which is a welcome relief after the heat of the last 2 weeks. Of course, this seems to be the leading edge of what could become some very ugly weather by tomorrow - so it's a trade off!
Will keep you ported as Maria moves closer to home. Stay safe out there!
 

- Maria visits the Windwards...?
  • By Christopher Jenkins <chrissjuk at aol.com>
  • Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2011 11:08:35 -0400
Well, the 11.00 am update has shown a southern shift in the models and therefore the Cone of Uncertainty as produced by NHC.

Maria is centered on Martinique on this showing, with the cone including St Lucia and St Vincent.

Photo from the NHC site of their interactive map.

Please note the time frame has also changed - showing Maria just off Martinique on Friday evening - so weather is likely to be with us well before then.

Things may yet change but this is now only a day away!

Chris Jenkins

www.facebook.com/zaravillas

track map



- Maria
  • By Christopher Jenkins <chrissjuk at aol.com>
  • Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2011 09:57:55 -0400
France has included Martinique in a Tropical Storm Watch for Maria. That is a Watch not a Warning announcement.

The "boards" are alive with chatter that Maria might be re-forecast later today with a more southerly track.

Keep an eye open here or at the NHC site for changes that may show St Lucia in the Cone. At present, both St Lucia and Martinique are outside of it - let's hope it stays that way! Still, Saturday morning is rather close! The pic below is taken from the NHS inter-active map page as of 10.00 am Thursday.

Chris Jenkins
www.facebook.com/zaravillas

NHS Map



- Maria
  • By Susan Beckwith <suebeckwith123 at gmail.com>
  • Date: Wed, 7 Sep 2011 15:17:03 -0400
Well we are all keeping our eyes on Tropical Storm Maria, winds are at 50mph on the 11am advisory from the NHC. Lets hope she takes a northerly track and misses most of the islands.

Otherwise the weather here in Marigot Bay, St Lucia is glorious with bright sunshine and the odd cloud in the sky.

Nothing much else to report, will keep all informed.

Have a great rest of the day!

Sue

- Still no rain here, but.....
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Sun, 4 Sep 2011 13:19:53 -0400
Still no rain here in the south of the island, but my friend told me yesterday Soufriere, on the south west coast, got hammered - she was soaked when she stopped by after work at Jalousie Plantation and told me it had been raining a lot of the day! for us here in the south though, it has been beautiful and sunny.
Today is a little less sunny for us and looking towards the interior of the island - it looks ominous! There are some ugly, heavy dark clouds over there and moving towards Soufriere again, I would not be surprised to hear of some flooding on that side of the island. Still not a drop for us and we have clear skies overhead, but the temperature has dropped and it is fairly dark with those heavy clouds just north of us! Looking east towards Vieux Fort, still doesn't look like these clouds will impact the south coast - or at least not much - but the west coast looks like it will take a hammering today.
So for those west and north of us on island, take care out there! For those of us here in the south - have a great day! Tonight is the Heinekin Green Synergy DJ competition in Vieux Fort -  should be a lot of fun- hoping the clouds pass by. Be careful out there!
 

- Hot and Sunny!
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Fri, 2 Sep 2011 13:20:25 -0400
This has been an amazingly beautiful week here in the south of St. Lucia. It has been ridiculously hot with clear, sunny blue skies. It has truly been picture perfect weather down here. The seas have been crystal clear and like glass - so calm and beautiful. And extremely refreshing on these very hot days! Not sure how long this will last, but our satellite pictures don't show many clouds for the next few days, so even this weekend should be beautiful! Then again, this is the Caribbean in hurricane season - for all we know, a storm could pop up overnight and drench us tomorrow!!!!  Let's hope we get through the weekend with this great weather, I could use a few more days of sun and ocean before more grey skies and rain! Although - with the heat right now - a rain shower would be welcome to cool off! I guess that's what the cold Ptions and ocean are for - right?
Have a great day out there.....wherever you may be!

- Update
  • By The Edge Restaurant <edgerestaurant at gmail.com>
  • Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2011 07:22:53 -0400
In Rodney Bay this morning it is partly cloudy. It feels like we may be getting some rain. It is still very hot, my thermometer already shows 30 degrees Celsius at 7 am. I am happy to see that Hurricane Katia is moving WNW. Hopefully she will stay on the predicted track and miss us all. We will still continue to monitor her though. She does not look nice at all...

Oh and here is the drizzle now...

Annika

Please note that The Edge Restaurant Bar & Sushi will be closed for its annual vacation from August 31, 2011. Please visit one of our sister restaurants Fire Grill & Lounge Bar in Rodney Bay Village or Starfish Fresh Food & Deli in Rodney Bay Marina, both are open every day for Lunch & Dinner throughout September. The Edge will be open again as usual from October 1, 2011.



- Thunder, Lightning, no rain
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2011 13:06:38 -0400
Here in the south, we have had thick dark clouds, thunder and loads of lightning - but no rain. We had a few showers yesterday afternoon - not even enough to refill the tank and that's been it. Strange weather. It's been deathly still and hot and sticky for the last few days and you can see that it wants to rain - probably pouring in other parts of the island. Here in Piaye/Laborie area though - dry and still. We keep hoping for the clouds to break and the rain to come down, if for no other reason than to break this heat.
I hope other parts of the island are faring well- hopefully someone else is getting some sunshine and our normal breeze - maybe up north!
Satellite pictures look pretty reasonable for the next few days, looks like the big UWP rally to launch 2 candidates should come off this Sunday with no weather interruptions. should be an interesting day!
Have a great weekend out there and stay safe!

- And rains again
  • By "Frans F. van Santbrink" <j69ds at candw.lc>
  • Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2011 05:46:51 -0430
So far this season we have been ok
All night we have had rain thunder and lightning here, it has been pouring 
since somewhere around midnight I think and it is still coming down. No winds 
just rain, I guess the usual applies low lying areas residents have to be alert 
etc.  I hope nobody got flooded..

God bless,
Frans van Santbrink,
1(758) 7153129

Sent from my iPhone

- Sunny today!
  • By Susan Beckwith <suebeckwith123 at gmail.com>
  • Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2011 11:45:40 -0400
Well its nice and sunny today with a lovely breeze, just hand washed all my clothes as the washing machine had broken down! All out to dry now.

I am keeping an eye on tropical depression 10 which is a way off but could cause a problem, here is the update from the St Lucian Met Office:

AT 5:00 AM TODAY THE CENTER OF NEWLY FORMED TROPICAL DEPRESSION #10
 WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 12.4 NORTH, LONGTITUDE 30.4 WEST OR ABOUT
 1886 MILES/3035 KILOMETERS EAST OF ST.LUCIA, MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS
 ARE NEAR 35 MPH/54 KPH. THE DEPRESSION IS MOVING TOWARDS THE WEST
 NORTHWEST NEAR 13 MPH/20 KPH. SOME STRENGTHENING IS EXPECTED DURING
 THE NEXT 48 HOURS. RESIDENTS OF ST.LUCIA ARE ASKED TO KEEP
 MONITORING THE PROGRESS OF THIS SYSTEM.

Lets keep our fingers crossed this depression just fizzles out, I am sure we dont want any nasty weather coming anywhere near the islands especially after hurricane Irene.

Sue

- Update
  • By The Edge Restaurant <edgerestaurant at gmail.com>
  • Date: Sat, 20 Aug 2011 15:34:09 -0400
It has not rained here in the Rodney Bay area for a couple of hours but we had some heavy showers earlier. It is very humid and absolutely no wind. I hear thunder again in the distance. I guess the weather will deteriorate from now on. This system looks really huge. Hopefully we will be spared but our neighbouring islands to the north and northwest of us, be aware! It will be interesting to see what the Hurricane Hunters find.

Annika

www.edge-restaurant.com  www.eurobbean.com





- Invest 97L to pass over St. Lucia???
  • By nada sonia <nadasonia825 at gmail.com>
  • Date: Sat, 20 Aug 2011 15:04:58 -0400
The updated GFS track takes the 'developing center' of this system directly over St. Lucia now. Not good news.  I hope it does not strengthen till it enters the Caribbean!
Normally the National Emergency Management Office (NEMO) sends out sms messages to alert St. Lucians, I haven't seen anything as yet and everyone here expects this system to head up north.  I hope we are not caught with our pants down on this one.
Stay safe and God bless.

~Sonia

- Bad weather on its way
  • By The Edge Restaurant <edgerestaurant at gmail.com>
  • Date: Sat, 20 Aug 2011 10:41:17 -0400
Looks like the tropical wave named invest 97L has its 1007 MB low centred right on St Lucias latitude about 350 miles to the the east of us. It just got very dark here, the winds picked up, it started to rain and I can hear the thunder getting closer. Looks like we are in for a wet day.
 
Annika

The Edge Restaurant Bar & Sushi
Harmony Suites Hotel
Flamboyant Drive
Rodney Bay Village
St Lucia W.I.
T: +1 758 450-EDGE (3343)
E: edgerestaurant at gmail.com
www.edge-restaurant.com  www.eurobbean.com


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- More rain on the way!
  • By Susan Beckwith <suebeckwith123 at gmail.com>
  • Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2011 12:22:35 -0400
Well looking at all the maps and predictions it looks like we are in for some rain in the next few days, at the moment and for the past few days it has been sunny with only the odd shower which has been lovely, however I think that is soon to finish. Here is today's forecast from the St Lucia Met office:

 A LARGE TROPICAL WAVE LOCATED ABOUT 900 MILES OR 1440 KILOMETRES EAST
 OF SAINT LUCIA, IS SHOWING SIGNS OF ORGANIZATION. ENVIRONMENTAL
 CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO BECOME MORE CONDUCIVE FOR DEVELOPMENT AS THE
 DISTURBANCE APPROACHES THE ISLANDS BY SATURDAY NIGHT. THIS SYSTEM HAS
 THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME A TROPICAL CYCLONE, DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS.
 ALL SAINT LUCIAN RESIDENTS, EPECIALLY THOSE IN AREAS PRONE TO FLOODING
 AND LANDSLIDES SHOULD BE VIGILANT AND CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE PROGRESS
 OF THIS SYSTEM AS IT MOVES WESTWARD AT 20 MPH OR 32 KM/H.
 A BROAD AREA OF LOW PRESSURE LOCATED OVER THE FAR EASTERN ATLANTIC, HAS
 BECOME BETTER ORGANIZED. CONDITIONS ARE FORECASTED TO BE CONDUCIVE FOR
 DEVELOPMENT AS IT WEST TO NORTHWESTWARD AT 10 TO 15 MPH OR 16 TO 24 KM/H.
 THIS SYSTEM ALSO HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME A TROPICAL CYCLONE, DURING
 THE NEXT 48 HOURS.

Fingers crossed it wont come to anything, but it is as well to follow the scouts motto "Be Prepared"

Sue

- Rain, Rain go away, come back another day!
  • By Susan Beckwith <suebeckwith123 at gmail.com>
  • Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2011 09:53:24 -0400
It was dry all night then this morning the heavens opened, we are now in the midst of thunderstorms and heavy rain, literally outside it seems that the world has stopped here in Marigot, there is no-one around at all!

It is so dark the crickets and frogs are still commencing their singsong, oh for a hot cup of chocolate!

Lets hope this clears soon, as we seem to be getting a lot of rain just lately.

Take care,
Sue

- One-a-Week
  • By nada sonia <nadasonia825 at gmail.com>
  • Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2011 09:18:25 -0400
Good morning...
It seems like this hurricane season is prescribing one-a-week systems for St. Lucia that generate heavy rainfall in Soufriere.  I think our met office needs to set up a weather station for Soufriere to record rainfall because on days when both the north and south of the island are dry clouds dump rain on Soufriere only, almost cartoon-like.  For instance, last week Monday during the first annual seafood festival in Castries (which was a huge success) those who attended from Soufriere reported heavy rainfall back home but Castries only got one downpour which lasted a few minutes.

So Soufriere has an abundance of ground water thus lots of springs and the soil is saturated but since we have steep hillslopes........ 

On Tuesday a massive landslide occurred at La Haut (same area as the smaller slide a few weeks ago, scroll down to see my post) resulting in the Soufriere - Castries highway/road being blocked for two days.  All vehicles had to head south to Vieux-Fort to get to Castries in the north - a 100min (1 hour and 40 min) drive by bus.  For the rest of the week we had blazing hot sun and I did not complain too much about the oppressive heat because the soil and my laundry needed to dry out.

Now to our dose of rain for this week - Invest 93L has regenerated and Martinique's weather forecast for Le Marin (which I find is very applicable for Soufriere) calls for lightning and thunderstorms today and tomorrow.  The rain has started and as I type thunder is rolling.  Motorists are all antsy wondering whether the hillslope stabilization works at La Haut will hold up.  We shall see!  At least 93L is not crossing over us as a storm.

Stay safe and dry
~Sonia



- Invest 93L is an invest again
  • By The Edge Restaurant <edgerestaurant at gmail.com>
  • Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2011 08:22:16 -0400
Well it seems like I just pressed send after my previous message an the ex invest is back as an invest again.


- Tropical Wave / Ex invest 93L
  • By The Edge Restaurant <edgerestaurant at gmail.com>
  • Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2011 08:03:24 -0400
Hi all

Well something is definitely over us now here up in the north of St Lucia. Heavy rain and rumbling thunder since 10 mins back. And we had sailing camp on the calendar this week...
We'll see what the rest of the day brings.

Annika

- Invests 92 and 93
  • By Christopher Jenkins <chrissjuk at aol.com>
  • Date: Thu, 11 Aug 2011 22:11:31 -0400
This is an extract from the Puerto Rico National Weather Service area forecast discussion issued this evening (August 11th).

Worth noting the comments about 93L in particular.

Chris Jenkins

NEXT WEEK...FORECAST WILL HINGE ON TRACK OF TWO AREAS OF LOW PRES
ACROSS THE ECNTRL ATLC. FIRST LOW (INVEST 92L) LOOKING LESS
ORGANIZED AS DISCUSSED IN LATEST TROPICAL WX OTLK. SOME MODELS
ACTUALLY DO NOT GIVE THIS SYSTEM MUCH CHANCE OF DEVELOPMENT WITH
THE RELIABLE ECMWF AND GFDL JUST SHOWING AN OPEN TROUGH.

INVEST 93L LOOKING MORE IMPRESSIVE WITH A MORE CONCENTRATED AREA
OF THUNDERSTORMS. THIS SYSTEM IS LOOKING MORE LIKELY THAT IT WILL
EVENTUALLY BECOME A NAMED SYSTEM OVR THE WEEKEND. HPC/NHC
COORDINATION INDICATING THIS SYSTEM TAKING A MORE WWD TRACK WITH
HPC DY3-DY7 EXTENDED GRAPHICS INDICATING A TROPICAL CYCLONE JUST
SOUTH OF SAINT CROIX BY 12Z THU AUG 18. THE 12Z ECMWF (THE TOP
PERFORMER OVR THE PAST THREE YEARS) SHOWS SYSTEM TRACKING BETWEEN
ST. JOHN AND ANEGADA ISLAND NEXT THU WITH THE SECOND MOST RELIABLE
MODEL THE GFDL TAKING IT RATHER BRISKLY ACROSS MARTINIQUE TUE
EVENING. SO SOME NOTABLE DIFFERENCES SEEN HERE IN TRACK/TIMING OF ANY
POTENTIAL IMPACTS. FOR NOW THE HPC/NHC AND ECMWF SOLUTIONS LOOK
MUCH BETTER AS THEY MATCH UP BETTER WITH CLIMATOLOGY.




- And just that fast....
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2011 17:34:36 -0400
The weather changes again! In no time at all, we went from gorgeous blue skies to big dark heavy clouds and are now having a downpour! What a difference an hour or two makes around here. Super glad we got pretty much everything done outside - now to get the rest of the clothes in before they are soaked through!
Be safe out there and enjoy what's left of the day!

- Gorgeous!
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2011 16:06:14 -0400
It is absolutely gorgeous outside here in the south. Beautiful, clear blue sky, big fluffy white clouds and a light breeze - simply beautiful. And much appreciated to get some clothes dried and lawn mowed and dogs washed! Been outside all afternoon and it is just so lovely, what can I say - paradise!
Our earthquake last night was fun - a nice reminder of Southern California for my transplated self! Luckily, no damage at all has been reported and -for me anyways - it was kind of fun again! Again though, very glad there seems to be no damage from it, just some shaken nerves.
All in all, it has been a great weekend and we are looking forward to a fairly quiet week here. Enjoy your day out there and be safe!

- If it's not one thing, it's another!
  • By Christopher Jenkins <chrissjuk at aol.com>
  • Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2011 00:49:58 -0400
Well, the weather is ok but just as I was thinking of drifting off to sleep, we had an earthquake - 5.1, small beer maybe but the strongest here for a while. It was actually off island, maybe 40 miles away but not too deep so strong enough for us to shake, rattle and roll.
Reactions range from slight to strong on the MMI scale  - 3 to 5.


Chris Jenkins
www.facebook.com/zaravillas


- Sunny again
  • By Susan Beckwith <suebeckwith123 at gmail.com>
  • Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2011 11:41:31 -0400
Well after a couple of days of thunderstorms and wet weather we are back in the sun - hooray!

TS Emily was a worry for a while, with lots of boats taking shelter in the mangroves here in Marigot but luckily she passed us by with just a few storms, although I hear there were a few landslides around the island, no one was injured. We just need to be aware that this looks set to be a very active season and make sure that we are all prepared.

Another two waves are several hundred miles out, I am keeping my fingers crossed that they come to nothing.

Sue

- Emily....
  • By Michael Lascaris <mike_7800 at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Tue, 2 Aug 2011 14:14:45 +0000
Well....I just came in yesterday after 2 weeks of being baked in New York's heatwave.  Most of the island was a textbook tropical day yesterday till about 7pm, when we experienced an intense 3 hour period of rain and possibly 20 - 30mph gusts.  Lulled for a while and picked back up with some serious rain and thunder during the wee hours of this morning.  Water came in through the porch sliding door, which didn't happen during Tomas (possibly wind direction).

Prime Minister has shut down the country today, guess he's being cautious after Tomas.  Heard some reports of some minor landslides, flooding and downed bridges.  Everything looks pretty OK, at least on the route into office and back.

Got pretty dark about an hour ago, parking lot outside office started flooding up, but has since receded.  From the sat pics, looks like we'll have some more cloudiness and possible a few more heavy showers today, let's see how that goes.  

In the meantime, stay safe.


Mike



- Emily Reigns
  • By nada sonia <nadasonia825 at gmail.com>
  • Date: Tue, 2 Aug 2011 08:28:40 -0400
Good morning all,
I will be posting updates Soufriere St. Lucia. 
Yesterday about 6am we had a mass of clouds mushroom over St. Lucia with a show of lightning, thunder and heavy rain showers.  The Soufriere river (by my visual estimate) was 2-3 ft from overflowing its banks but thankfully it didn't. During the day we had enough sunshine to line-dry two loads of laundry. Then came intermittent rain from 7pm.  It started raining from about 11pm and has not stopped since.  The rain varies from mist to light drizzle and early this morning we got more lightning and thunder.  It is back to misting as I type.
So far I've confirmed two reported landslides, one near La Haut and another near Rabot (near Ladera).  Communications and Works have equipment working to clear both of these slides since 6am.  A single lane has been cleared at Rabot however it is not safe to pass as mud and rocks keep sliding down.
I think Emily gave us all a dry run (no make that a wet run) to prepare should any other system get organized before crossing the Lesser Antilles.
Stay safe and alert.

~Nadia

- Rain and wind
  • By Marcus Day <marcus.p.day at gmail.com>
  • Date: Mon, 1 Aug 2011 20:22:31 -0400
Well Emily is here - it seems like the debt crisis in the US kept the planes away until the last minute.
Its blosing and raining here in Castries  - must be worse to the north though the computer models were right that this will pass between Martinique and Dominica.

The ground here is saturated so we shall see what slippages we get in the morning


--
Dr Marcus Day DSc
Co-Chair
Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC)

Director
Caribbean Drug & Alcohol Research Institute
Box 1419
Castries
SAINT LUCIA



- Emily, where are you going?
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Mon, 1 Aug 2011 13:30:36 -0400
As apparently Emily has not quite decided to show her face as a tropical depression or storm - she is still causing a bit of havoc around here. As my predecessors have said - we had some wicked thunder and lightening this morning along with some heavy rains - for about 3 hours or so! We lost power for around 30 minutes or so, and then - everything was back and by 8 or so and some blue was breaking out in the skies. The roads are dry again and it looks like we will be putting some clothes out to dry - we'll see how far those get!
Looks like the "main" storm is still to the east of us and potentially will pass us much closer than thought the past few days. It also looks a lot smaller though - so potentially (and just guessing here) maybe not as much damage as thought earlier either. Who knows - Miss Emily is playing coy!
Either way - Happy Emancipation Day!

- Heavy Showers
  • By Susan Beckwith <suebeckwith123 at gmail.com>
  • Date: Mon, 1 Aug 2011 13:25:04 -0400
After lots of heavy showers and a few gusty winds, all seems to be calm now. I thought it had passed but not so, Invest 91L is just 240 miles east of Martinique and set to cause us wind and rain tonight, oh well at least I am prepared.

No power outages I am glad to say here in Marigot but we have had not pipe water for 2 days now!

Sue

- Invest 91
  • By Christopher Jenkins <chrissjuk at aol.com>
  • Date: Mon, 1 Aug 2011 11:39:11 -0400
So, strong rain, gusty winds, drizzle, sunshine, gentle breeze...another varied morning in a life in the tropics! 
No Emily yet, but we can't dismiss this system for a while yet. It was always forecast to pass St Lucia around midnight tonight, early tomorrow (Tuesday). Current speed is about 15 mph so as it was 250 miles due West of the channel between us and Martinique this morning, it should be passing us between around midnight tonight. As it is moving WNW Martinique / Dominica look to be the centre of the track. But then this now small system has been confounding experts for several days so please take care!

Like many others that post here at Storm Carib, I am no weather expert, just an islander hoping to avoid the worst of any storms. For professional advice check NHC or Saint Lucia Met Service.

Anyway, time to take a walk while the sun shines. Enjoy Emancipation Day! And to those in Barbados, have a great crop over and Grand Kadooment.

Chris Jenkins

- Update
  • By "Louis Todor" <ltodor at candw.lc>
  • Date: Mon, 1 Aug 2011 09:05:22 -0400
Vigorous electric storm started this morning just after 6 am here in the south with heavy rain and close lightning hits. We experianced an hour of power outage, but thankfully we have power back now.
There is light rain at the moment with hardly any wind. It really feels like "the quiet before the storm". I will send regular updates from the Choiseul area. 
 
Louis

- all night long..
  • By "Frans van Santbrink" <j69ds at candw.lc>
  • Date: Mon, 1 Aug 2011 06:23:24 -0400

Hi All,

 

It has been raining all night long.. mostly pouring really. Right now as I just get up enjoying a nice cup of espresso it is raining raining and raining with some wind.

On top of the mountain all is well, not so sure how things are in the low lying areas like Bexon, I suspect they might be experiencing some level of flooding L

 

Let me turn on my radios and check into the Caribbean Emergency and Weather Net this morning and see what news we can gather there

 

Be safe and be Blessed

 

Frans van Santbrink

M: +1 758 715 3129

IM: j69ds at hotmail.com

Radio: 145.700 –

Web: http://frans.dageekz.com

 


- Something is brewing
  • By Christopher Jenkins <chrissjuk at aol.com>
  • Date: Mon, 1 Aug 2011 06:07:59 -0400
After looking at the Storm Carib page with rather bleary eyes, assumed the chances of rough weather had receded but then saw the weather image was out of date. Now I've been outside it is all too obvious something is on the move and we are set for a stormy day here in the Windwards. Wind increasing, sideways rain and it is cold!

Keep safe!

Chris Jenkins
www.facebook.com/zaravillas


- That damn blob...
  • By Christopher Jenkins <chrissjuk at aol.com>
  • Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2011 23:37:17 -0400
Chris Reed was asking if the storm was done or if this is the quiet before the real storm gets going. Must admit I've been searching around for an answer to that as earlier today I thought we were in for a major rain session but that petered out quickly.

As the two sections of the Invest are now re-uniting, it seems likely that this is, sadly, the quiet before the tropical storm. We and the rest of the region need to be on the alert for a short notice storm watch overnight, early tomorrow. More detail on what is going on can be had via this link:

http://www.crownweather.com/?p=6572

This could be a very wet Emancipation Day.

Take care all.

Chris Jenkins
www.facebook.com/zaravillas


- Hmmm....
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2011 21:28:08 -0400
I am wonderng what happened to this storm? Where has all the rain gone? It has been dry and deathly still here in the south since about 5pm. Road has dried up, balcony is dried up, dogs are out running around - things are good! There's just not a breath of air stirring and we are now wondering if this is the calm before the real storm or is the storm dying out and we're not going to get much more. Hmmm...

- Wet wet wet
  • By "Frans F. van Santbrink" <j69ds at candw.lc>
  • Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2011 13:40:54 -0430
And it is pouring here now as a grind of mine said raining cats n dogs and heck 
the whole jungle coming down here right now :)
Had time to clear the drains so should be ok...
Neighbors house closed and ready also so whatever comes......

JPEG image



God bless,
Frans van Santbrink,
1(758) 7153129

Sent from my iPhone

- Radar image
  • By Christopher Jenkins <chrissjuk at aol.com>
  • Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2011 13:30:46 -0400
current radar image:

radar image



- Western section of Invest reaches St Lucia
  • By Christopher Jenkins <chrissjuk at aol.com>
  • Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2011 13:27:08 -0400
Heavy rain all of a sudden and gusts of wind here in the north of St Lucia. Looking at the radar image we have a few hours of this to come. Still no news from NHC as to the status of the main part of the system.
Time to check the doors and windows!

Chris Jenkins
www.facebook.com/zaravillas


- The Rain is here!
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2011 13:22:25 -0400
Well, in spite of predictions, it seems the weather will do as it will. Today dawned sunny and beautiful again, by noon - greay and dark and gloomy. Now - rain!!! Looks like the leading edge of the Invest/storm cauht up to us earlier than predicted - as storms will do. It looks as if the main storm will pass north of us - good for St. Lucia, not great for our northern neighbors. We will still see some heavy rains for a day or 2, I am guessing - as we already are having some showers here in the south; my drain on the side of the house is already a running stream - I anticipate it being a small "river" by later this afternoon! No outdoor actvities today - I am bummed out as we were planning to head by Laborie beach for a cook-off competition by two local chefs. Maybe they will re-schedule for next week. Otherwise, today is an indoors, hot toddy kind of day - wish the American football season had started - this is a perfect day to watch a few games!
Be safe out there!

- Weather...
  • By "Frans van Santbrink" <j69ds at candw.lc>
  • Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2011 12:39:55 -0400

That cloud mass out there looking treathening.. The weather here is slowly changing to darker cloudier weather, this morning it was nice and sunny but right now it is turning darker slowly but surely.

I hope everybody has readied themselves for whatever might be coming.

I pray it will keep a bit further North and that we do not get too much rain here…

 

But we shall in time…

 

Blessings


- Getting Ready!
  • By Susan Beckwith <suebeckwith123 at gmail.com>
  • Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2011 09:38:10 -0400
Well we have had text warnings from the local cell phone networks and messages via tickers on the TV.

I am taking up my carpets - they got soaked last time! and generally getting everything together, hopefully this wont come to much but we have to be prepared and take heed of the lessons we learned from Hurricane Tomas.

Have woken up to a nice day with sunshine but checking the satellite pictures the storm is not far off.

Will keep you updated - providing I have internet availability

Sue

- Beautiful Blue Skies - for now
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Sat, 30 Jul 2011 13:46:44 -0400
Well, it is a gorgeous day here in the south - blue skies and fluffy coulds, light breeze - it is ideal! We are definitely going to take the rest of today to do some gardening - trim some branshes and general yard clean up  in advance of what may be some nasty weather the next few days. While we are obviously hoping Invest 91 takes a turn north and passes us by, we are practical people here on the island and the hurricane kit is stocked up! With Monday as a holiday here, at least we know most folks will be home and safe in case we do get some extra heavy rains.
In the meantime, I plan on enjoying the sunshine today!!! Be safe out there and have a great day! 

- Sunny - lets hope it stays that way!
  • By Susan Beckwith <suebeckwith123 at gmail.com>
  • Date: Sat, 30 Jul 2011 12:21:23 -0400
I am monitoring the low pressure system that is approx. 800 miles from us here in St Lucia.

Most of my neighbours are not troubled by it as they think it will just be a little rain - lets hope so, mind you they were like that with Hurricane Tomas last year and did not believe me when I told them something was coming, much to their detriment.

I have put my hurricane kit together, candles, bottled water, matches, tinned food, torches, batteries and radio so if anything did happen I would be prepared.

Today is beautiful, just a few clouds in the sky and beaming sunshine, lets hope it stays that way!

Sue

- Invest 91
  • By Christopher Jenkins <chrissjuk at aol.com>
  • Date: Fri, 29 Jul 2011 07:41:16 -0400
Last year, one of the few people to provide any advance warning of Tomas was Rob Lightbown of Crown Weather Services. He has made a clear statement this morning that the Windwards and Leewards need to be on storm watch ahead of Invest 91 arriving by Tuesday of next week. The following is an extract from his bulletin issued early this morning:

"Invest 91-L Located 1200 Miles East-Southeast Of The Lesser Antilles:
Of much more concern is a fairly well organized tropical disturbance, labeled Invest 91-L by the National Hurricane Center. Invest 91-L was located this morning over the central Atlantic about 1200 miles east-southeast of the Lesser Antilles. Given the overall look of this system and the fact that environmental conditions are fairly conducive to development, I think we will see development into a tropical depression and then a tropical storm by Sunday and Monday. In fact, I will be bold and say that this system could very well become our first hurricane of the 2011 Hurricane Season.

Everyone across the Leeward and northern Windward Islands need to go over their hurricane disaster kits today as this system could be affecting you by Tuesday as a hurricane. Also, if you have family and friends in the Leeward and northern Windward Islands, let them know that they may have a hurricane threat on Tuesday.

After passing the Leeward Islands, it’s tough to say where it will go given that it is up to 5 to 7 days away, however, this system has the potential to be a threat to Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and the Bahamas.

This is a system that I will be monitoring throughout this weekend and into next week and I will keep you all updated."


Always better to be safe than sorry so time to check your storm preparations and kit.


Good luck all!!


Chris Jenkins

www.facebook.com/zaravillas



- Its raining!
  • By Susan Beckwith <suebeckwith123 at gmail.com>
  • Date: Wed, 27 Jul 2011 13:33:04 -0400
Well its raining and has not stopped for the past 6+ hours.

A weather advisory has been put out by the met office to say that a high level trough is passing over and should affect the island for the next 12-24 hours resulting in flooding and landslides.

All I can say is I hope it stops soon!

Personally I am wet through and it is miserable, still as we all know the weather never lasts long here so tomorrow, lets hope, it should be sunny again!

Sue

- Rain!
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:25:05 -0400
It has been raining here in the south since about 6am - continuous rain! Several long heavy showers, turned the road in fron of the house into a small stream for a while. Looks like we'll be seeing this rain for most of the day. While our tank and garden are grateful for the rain, our roads and rivers are not so happy! Here's hoping this is not so heavy up north and the flood prone areas are coming through safe and sound. Looks like a good day for inside today! Stay safe out there!

- Crazy weather!
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Sat, 23 Jul 2011 13:02:58 -0400
Well, it has been interesting weather here! While the sat. pictures show we should have had some amazing amounts of rain in the last day - here in the south, we barely saw a drop! We had 1 had shower that lasted about 2 minutes last night and that's it!! It has been ridiculously hot and humid and no relief in sight! While it has been beautiful and great beach weather - we could use some heat relief. I am sure our island visitors are enjoying the weather though!
Today is another day for beach and rum, and BBQ tonight!  Have a good time out there!

- Rainy Marigot Bay
  • By Susan Beckwith <suebeckwith123 at gmail.com>
  • Date: Wed, 6 Jul 2011 12:45:48 -0400
Well its been a wet few days down here in Marigot, it appears we have had a few tropical waves passing over, lets just hope they don't turn into anything nasty once they have passed over us.

There are lots of adverts on the TV urging everyone to take precautions should, and lets hope not!, we get a repeat of Hurricane Tomas.

Not much else to report at the moment, the few tourists that are here are a little disappointed at the weather, but as you know living in the Caribbean means it could be blazing sunshine tomorrow, then we will all be complaining about the heat!

Sue

- what happened to the rain?
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Sat, 18 Jun 2011 21:35:04 -0400
Well, we had about 30 minutes of very heavy rain followed by a brilliant sunset and after that, nothing. It has been dry here in the south of the island since around 7 - even though that satellite picture looks wicked! We are wondering where the rain went!?! We still have some beautiful breezes going on, keeping things very cool. Well, maybe we'll get some more rain later on. Check back with you all later!
 

- And here it comes!
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Sat, 18 Jun 2011 18:29:34 -0400
Well, been watching that ugly looking blob of color moving our way on the satellite picture all day - knew it would not be good when it arrived. We had a beautiful day today, bright blue skies and big fluffy clouds - that kept getting bigger and filling in the sky more and more until about an hour ago, when it seemed to be much darker here than the time and position of the sun would indicate! Been watching the clouds roll in since 5 and now, the rain has started! It is heavy and hard, with some really strong winds. Should be an interesting night! Here's hoping it passes quickly and doesn't do any damage to our rivers and roads!
Looks like a good night to stay in and enjoy a great dinner and bottle of wine with the hubby!

- Some rain
  • By "Frans F. van Santbrink" <j69ds at candw.lc>
  • Date: Mon, 13 Jun 2011 17:59:33 -0430
Hi all, 
This after noon we had some showers on top of our mountain, which was nice 
after the week of heat.. 
The blob of clouds on the satellite image look like they might bring a heap of 
rain... We shall see eh 
But for right now the temp is nice thanks to the showers


God bless,
Frans van Santbrink, (J69DS),
1(758) 7153129

Sent from my iPhone

- And the season has started
  • By "Frans F. van Santbrink" <j69ds at candw.lc>
  • Date: Thu, 9 Jun 2011 07:50:26 -0430
I just hope that this year will be a better one. I hope all hurricane go due 
north and die in the Atlantic. After last year this year we cannot handle 
another one. So far here has been super hot with on and off rain... 

God bless,
Frans van Santbrink,
1(758) 7153129

Sent from my iPhone

- Rainy, grey day
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Mon, 6 Jun 2011 11:54:17 -0400
Good morning! Yesterday saw some clouds returning and the breeze came back, which finally lowered the temperatures considerably! Down here in the south, we saw some showers and 1 havy downpour that lasted about 4 minutes, with a pretty consistant cloud cover. Some amazing views of the Pitons swathed in different cloud formations - made me wish again I had a good camera. It dried out last night, but remained cool with a light breeze - it was so nice, didn't even need the fan to sleep!
Today we woke up to some light showers again. They have been pretty steady here in the south, mainly just a light drizzle with some stronger breezes. It feels so very nice and fresh outside! This weather makes me want to make a big pot of soup! The light rain is great, I can already see the garden poerking up after the last 10 days of hot and dry weather. Hopefully, the light showers last through the day without overwhelming any of our rivers or further damage to any roads.
While individually, most of us here in St. Lucia are fairly well prepared for the hurricane season, I can't say the island as a whole is. With the little bit of rain yesterday/today, several areas of the island have had the water system turned off again to avoid contamination and problems with distribution. This is going to be a difficult season as the recovery from Tomas last year was not even close to completed. A few days of heavy rain will see us right back where we started with flooded rivers and villages, roads under water and some serious land slippage. Let's all hope that - in spite of the dire predictions for this season - somehow, the experts are wrong and we have a quiet season. Our island could use some more time to recover!
As for today, unfortunately, we have to venture into Vieus Fort today for some business. Would love to curl up with a good book and a hot toddy and enjoy this cool weather! Maybe this evening!

- Rain again
  • By Susan Beckwith <suebeckwith123 at gmail.com>
  • Date: Mon, 6 Jun 2011 11:17:53 -0400
Another rainy day in Marigot, heavy showers have been in situ since yesterday afternoon when we had a few very loud thunderclaps.
Seems like we are already into the season with a tropical wave passing over and another one out in the Atlantic.
Will keep you all informed,

From Sue in a wet Marigot Bay!

- Hot and cloudy!
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Wed, 1 Jun 2011 13:36:03 -0400
Good afternoon! Today sees the south of the island with some hazy cloud cover and hot, hot, hot!!!! there sia some breeze which has picked up over the last few days, so at least the air is moving, but man, has it been hot! It has been very hard to pick ourselves up off the porch to do anything! Thank goodness for salads and the crockpot - I can cook without having to turn that oven on! It doesn't look like we'll see much rain - at least here in the south today. We had a short cloudburst this morning, but mainly - HOT!
Might be a good afternoon for some freezing cold Piton beers and a good book.
Have a great day!

- Strange weather
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Fri, 20 May 2011 19:52:04 -0400
Well, as you all know, it has been an unusually wet "dry" season. We have had some serious rain in the past weeks. However, the past week has seen some strange weather. It has mostly been overcast, but not a drop of rain has fallen here in the south of the island until just last night - after a beautiful, sunny hot day! We had a few more showers this morning and finally seem to have our lovely ocean breeze back! Mostly, the last week or so has seen still, hot, humid air and grey skies. That seems to have passed - yeah!!!
Looking forward to the Big & Beautiful Pageant tomorrow evening in Soufriere- should be interesting. The husband's band is providing entertainment - so free entry for us!
Otherwise, I am hoping we can finally get to the beach again this weekend - or maybe Monday and bathe in the sea again! With all the recent rains, the runoff through the rivers has kept the surrounding sea fairly brown and churned up. After a few dry days, it is finally clearing up! Can't wait to jump in that salt water again. It's a bit of torture to see it there and not be able to jump in!
Hope all is well out there with my fellow StormCarib followers. Stock up on those hurricane supplies, it seems we are in for a doozy of a season!
Have a great evening!

- Official - it is wet!
  • By Christopher Jenkins <chrissjuk at aol.com>
  • Date: Fri, 6 May 2011 18:06:45 -0400
Just to confirm our suspicions and add to our grumbling, confirmation a few days ago from the Head of the Met Office in St Lucia that the April weather has been a record breaker. This is an extract from an article in the St Lucia Star:

According to Thomas Auguste, St Lucia’s director of meteorological services, there is no weather system of note affecting Saint Lucia, however, the rainfall for April 2011 is more than just unusual.
“In fact it is the highest we have on record since we have been collecting this sort of information from 1973,” Auguste told the STAR.
The total rainfall recorded at Hewannora in Vieux Fort so far for April as of yesterday April 29 is 354.4mm, while George FL Charles in Castries has so far recorded 237.1 mm. The second highest on record at Hewannora was in April 1981 when 291mm was recorded whilst in that same year George FL Charles recorded 337.8mm.
“Just to put in perspective, the average rainfall for April since 1973 is 66mm for Vieux Fort and 72mm for Vigie so this month so far is five times the average,” Auguste said while urging residents to pay attention to the heavy rainfall and its possible effects. “What we are saying is that following hurricane Tomas, a number of slopes are still very unstable and this kind of rainfall and saturation can cause landslides, so persons need to take precaution,” Auguste cautioned.


Chris Jenkins

- The Weather Gods are Confused!
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Sun, 1 May 2011 12:53:15 -0400
Well, it seems the weather gods are confued about what should be happening this time of year. We have had some ungodly amounts of rain in the last week and yesterday - finally saw some blue skies, interspersed with a few hard-driving rain showers. Crazy. Woke up this morning to brilliant blue skies and by noon - rain here in the south. We have a pretty good cloud cover and it is not looking hopeful that the rain will pass us by. From other weather stations/pictures, it looks like we are in for about bout of heavy rains. We have had some heavy flooding in several parts of the island, with some bridges under water, rivers jumping their banks and houses flooded right through. Fortunately, no people were hurt and no houses lost, just lots and lots of water damage. With more rain on the way, I can't see how those low-lying, already flooded communities are going to deal with more flooding!
We have seen several Jazz events cancelled and postponed this weekend, including yesterday's Jazz in the South at Coconut Bay. Some of it was postponed to today, with the show starting earlier than originally planned, however - no a lot more rain on the way! No word yet on whether that one will be postponed/cancelled, it's a wait and see. Tomorrow is Jazz on the Beach at Rudy John Beach Park in Laborie - so far preparations are going forward - here's hoping there is still enough beach left after all this rain and rough seas!
Not sure about the events in the north, but it isn't looking good for them either. Hopefully, things dry out for the main-stage events next week!
Isn't this the dry-season? Come on weather gods, get your seasons straightened out!!!!
Today is another stay-at-home day, clean up around the yard - in between showers! - and watch some NBA game action. Everybody get out and do a no-rain dance at some point today - maybe we can get the weather gods in-sync again!
Have a great day!

- More rain
  • By Christopher Jenkins <chrissjuk at aol.com>
  • Date: Sun, 1 May 2011 11:26:14 -0400
Well we had a few hours break yesterday but today we are back to continuous rain. The radar shows there is little chance of a break in his weather today and given the conditions in Barbados, I guess it could become worse over the next few hours. I suspect today's Jazz on the Beach may be postponed for 12 months. Bexon was flooded on Friday so I suspect they will have more problems after this spell.

Chris Jenkins
www.facebook.com/zaravillas


- Under Water
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 11:44:55 -0400
Wow!!! I have no words for the amount of rain hitting the island right now!! It has been steadily raining fairly heavily since about 8 am this morning. The road in front of the house is a river, the yard is now a lake and it shows no signs of letting up. This is unreal for the "dry" season. So far, no reports of real damage, just roads that now look like rivers. Hopefully, there has not been any more slippage of our hurricane damaged roads and all those houses on the hillsides are still where they belong - on the hills!
Jazz in the South, which kicks off the annual Jazz St. Lucia week, has had to cancel it's Saturday show at Coconut Bay resort due to the rains and continued forecast of more. Now, we are waiting to hear about Sunday's show - and Monday for that matter! Monday's show is at the beach in Laborie and one of the biggest parties in the south - I sincerely hope it dries up by then!
Well, keep safe out there. Can't imagine having to run into town right now! I would need a kayak or fishing boat just to get out the driveway!
Have a great day!

- Wet again!
  • By Chris Reed <reedprincess at hotmail.com>
  • Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2011 16:35:48 -0400
Well, it has been a wet few days here in what is supposed to be sunny St. Lucia! We have been having some heavy rains again today after receiving 36mm over 24 hours Tues.-Wed. I am wondering how much more is in store for us after the last 24 hours. So far, no reports of slips or slides or any damage, but it has been a good soaking for us here in the south especially. Apparently, the north of the island only saw about 4mm of rain over the same period. Strange! But, I guess the interior rainforest soaked it all up.
The rivers down here are flowing steadily, which means of course that our tap water is not! Once again, the excess rain has caused WASCO (water co.) to shut off the supply until it stops raining and the water isn't so churned up. For about the 30th time this year, I am so thankful for the huge water storage tank we have! I can only imagine what the service will look like during the actual rainy months!
All in all, it's been a chilly, gray, wet day, perfect for some indoor chores followed quickly by a hot cup of tea and a good book. Hopefully, we'll see some sun tomorrow!
Enjoy your day!

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