- Updates from the Islands -

- - Dominica - -

- - - 2013 Hurricane Season - - -

- Sunny weather

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 29 Apr 2014 09:36:39 -0300

It is nearly May and here we are still having very chilly weather in the mornings and evenings! This is preferable as it makes everything so fresh and accompanied by a heavy dew in the mornings the gardens maintain enough moisture to ensure growth. I think we are better off though than some of the other islands. Friends in Anguilla and Antigua tell us they are are having very dry hot weather and drought conditions. There is one month to go before the hurricane season; some reports point to a quiet one, but predicting is a shaky science! It will soon be time to fill the hurricane coffers and stock up with generator fuel

I am enclosing my latest painting of Bananquits that we have in all the islands; they are plump colourful little birds and I had a lot of fun doing them.

Attachment: Banana Quits.jpg
Description: JPEG image

- Stormy night

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2014 08:31:48 -0300

Well, we just wondered what was going on with the weather last night. So surprised and woken up a lot during the night with very, very heavy rain and winds that whistled around the house as if we were enduring a hurricane!! It really was very disturbing and we had to bring the dogs into our home as they were very distressed! This morning has been a very cloudy day so far but absolutely no wind, it is very peculiar. We can hear the river roaring on it's way to the ocean below us!! So far this year it has been different from previous years! - it is chilly in the mornings and in the evenings, this is actually really quite nice but it is interesting to see the change here in the climate. Dominica - so far - is not as warm as usual for this time of year.....but say the garden is looking beautiful, very green and everything is growing really well.

- Summer cometh

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2014 08:11:15 -0300

It has been a while since I have posted. We are having the most beautiful weather at the moment. It is still very chilly in the mornings and evenings, chilly enough for me to wear my furry boots and a jumper when I am on the deck in the early morning and evenings! I have not had a river swim yet as the river water is really cold and the heat of the day still not hot enough to feel like taking the plunge. The ocean on the west coast has some very large swells and therefore I find it a bit rough for swimming. Still we are enjoying the sunshine and have had no rain for over two weeks. We are very lucky as we live close to a running ravine so we use our water pump for watering our garden. We have started organic farming of vegetables so watering these plants is a quite a big job each day. Still we are very much enjoying the sunshine.

- Jet Stream

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2014 08:35:09 -0400

We are still having very strange weather here in Dominica and in our valley! We are experiencing a great deal of rain which is unusual especially for January which was always one of our driest months! As I sit here writing this report on our deck I have on trainers with socks, jeans a t shirt and a jumper my hands are cold as it is very windy and the temperature is 68 degrees!! We are very lucky though when we watch the news from the UK and from the States; the UK having severe flooding and terrible high winds which has never happened before! The States having freezing weather snow and ice bringing the coldest storms for many, many years. It truly seems that the weather patterns are changing world wide. Today the meteorological boffins feel the reason we are having this diabolical weather - certainly in the northern hemisphere - is because the jet stream has dipped to greater degree and therefore is not working in the normal way. They put this down to being man made and that the weather is only going to get worse in the future! It seriously is food for thought. We find it very alarming and feel lucky to live in the Caribbean. We wonder though how this is going to affect growing food and what is going to happen in the long run. Dominica is blessed with wonderful fertile soil and we are growing great vegetables at the moment and the fruit on the trees are doing well. We are lucky to live in the nature island and be able to be self sufficient when it comes to food!!!

- RAIN AND MORE RAIN

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 10 Jan 2014 08:51:31 -0400

So far the New Year has not brought the sunshine! We are having intermittent sunshine in between heavy showers of rain and gusty winds. Our driveway is one sodden, puddly mess! The lawn is too slushy to step on! The birds are so cold which makes them hungry! We should not complain at all about the weather as everywhere else seems to be having it much worse, we are in the Caribbean after all and do not need to wrap up in lots of clothes!! We feel that the weather will continue to be like this for a while as we usually get colder weather when the USA has experienced the cold and boy what cold they are having. The fun thing is that Carnival is around the corner for Dominica and already we are having some good Calypso songs to listen too. This cheers everyone up.

- ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2014 08:45:02 -0400

DA is having very cold rainy, wet and windy weather. What is a puzzle to us is that (apparently) on the website www.stormcarib.com it shows that we have minimum cloud cover over us which we find rather strange! Yesterday is rained on and off constantly bringing a great deal of water onto our already sodden garden. All night it rained really heavily and the garden is a more severe quagmire this morning. We have not heard any news of any slides or flooding so we hope that situation remains. Up here in the valley we do not get the local radio signals other than through the Net; crazy right with technology the way it is!! Our dogs are curled up on the deck on their rugs and keep looking at us with despair in their eyes if they could talk it would be............................... "Give us a break we are used to the heat"!! Our little birds we feed are demanding more food to keep them warm. It will be interesting to see if our neighbouring islands are having this wintry weather. We left the UK 25 years ago to be warm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- HAPPY NEW YEAR AND MAY THE SUN SHINE

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 2 Jan 2014 08:34:20 -0400

We are still really puzzled by the weather. Today we have woken up to a great deal of heavy showers followed by huge gusts of wind and the sky is very grey! It is extremely cold sitting here on the deck this morning the temperature 68 degrees! Jaco lad thinks this is valley rain, however, I am looking at a white out in front of me right now. The little birds we feed everyday are having a pretty tough time and are demanding more food to keep out the cold. Yesterday was so different, it was a beautiful sunny day! We actually went to the beach and had a swim which was very refreshing. It's obvious that the weather is weird! Looking forward to 2014 - hopefully - we will in the Caribbean be spared any really bad hurricanes, 2013 was a very lucky year! Thinking about this though, sometimes the weather that affects us - as in the flooding on Christmas Eve - does more damage than a TS or hurricane and is more upsetting because it was not forecast! We wish everyone a Happy, safe New Year.

- Chilly Weather

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 30 Dec 2013 08:21:36 -0400

The weather here in Dominica has been really strange, we have been having a lot of rain and yet on the satellite photo's it appears that there is no cloud cover at all, but still it pours!! December in Dominica is usually a very dry month so this is very strange! Yesterday we went to Papillote Hotel up in the Trafalgar Valley for lunch. We were really surprised and quite shocked at how many landslides had taken place from the downpour on Christmas Eve. The slides were very large coming from a great height with boulders hitting the road. I think it is a miracle that no one was hurt or killed. The south of DA got badly hit yet there was no rain in the north of the island, very strange. Of course the part of the system that hit St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines on the same day caused a greater impact and fatalities, a tragic time. We really do have to think about climate change and whether it really is happening. We have lived in the Caribbean 25 years and never experienced it so wet and chilly at Christmas. As I write this report it is still raining and the temperature is 70 degrees. Please, please let us have our beautiful sunny Caribbean weather back

- A Very Wet Christmas.

From: Jackie Fullbrook <fullbrookt at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 26 Dec 2013 10:38:34 -0400

Good morning to one and all,

well what a Christmas eve/day that turned out to be. Did I say the ground was sodden and

the water had nowhere to go. WRONG. I know some of it ended up in our downstairs apt. We had

a huge thunderstorm in the early hours of Tuesday morning and the rain came crashing down. The

electric went out, and stayed out, until late afternoon. Thunder rumbled for best part of the day while we

mopped up the apt. Then the water was cut off, due to the risk of contamination from mud slides, and that

stayed off until approx. 6pm yesterday. And the local villages of Loubiere, Castle Comfort, Newtown and

Citronniere were flooded. At least 18 families in the Newtown area were flooded out. Water waist deep

in some houses. We have had about 35 landslides across the island. Thankfully no deaths that I am

aware of. A 40ft container was washed down a hill and ended up partly in a drainage ditch and partly on

the road, by what is usually a lovely little stream, but had turned into a raging torrent of water. It caused havoc

to motorists trying to get in and out of Roseau Town. Local hotels in the Citronniere area were flooded out.

A couple of business's in Roseau were flooded when the river overflowed it's banks. So all in all a very

wet Christmas.

Today the sky is a patchy blue. Light rain. Very windy with some good strong gusts thrown in.

Ahhh, but the sun is trying to shine through. You all enjoy the rest of the season's holiday. And stay safe.

- Boxing day

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 26 Dec 2013 09:07:43 -0400

Today we actually have some blue sky and sunshine although it is cold sitting on the deck writing this report. Christmas day was pretty good weather wise although for the first time ever I cooked Christmas dinner in jeans and a jumper in our home with the oven on for four hours, this just is not like temperatures last year where we were so hot with the oven on it was not comfortable. We had friends for lunch the turkey really was delicious and the company good. We did give a lot of thoughts though to other people not so fortunate because of the flooding that the weather bought here on Christmas Eve and today we read that there has been 8 deaths and 5 missing and 62 people without homes in St Vincent and the Grenadines, we feel so very sad to hear this news especially this time of the year, any time is a bad time but Christmas is very hard indeed. Let us hope that we do not have any more bad weather.

- Terrible storm Where did that come from.................

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 24 Dec 2013 10:28:56 -0400

5.15 a.m. We were woken by bright flashes of lightning all around the house, then the rain started and thunder. It was totally unbelievable. The storm carried on until 8.15 a.m. and we still have a great deal of cloud cover and rain now. To be honest we have never known the weather like this in December we just don't have thunder and lightning (I hate lightning). There is no mains electricity, luckily we do have a generator which is going great guns. I have had reports from my friends in town that the town is flooded, the fresh food market is closed! Newtown is flooded and Loubiere. So far have not heard of any landslips but we are a bit cut off here in the valley from the news.

At one stage I truly thought a volcano had erupted, we were in thick cloud which looked like steam, lighting was all around the house and the thunder was unbelievably loud and crashing about it was terrible. So very, very glad the rest of our Christmas shopping was concluded yesterday making today a chill out and a knees up! I have to stuff the turkey and make the mince pies which is a job that is enjoyable.

We wish everyone a very Happy Christmas and just hope that everyone is safe in Dominica and have not been too badly hit by the flooding.

- Back on Duty.

From: Jackie Fullbrook <fullbrookt at gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2013 09:56:52 -0400

A very good morning to one and all,

at last I have time to sit down and report in for some weather duty. It's been a long time since

I have done this. Originally we went off to the U.K. for what should have been a 6 week break to

attend a wedding; and then our daughter surprises us with, "I'm going to have a baby".So 6 &1/2 months

later we welcomed another grandson into the family. That makes 4. Should be fun when they

visit next year. Then the temp. started to drop, rapidly. Time to vacate and get back to warmer climes.

6&1/2 months away does wonders for the garden. The jungle had taken back all that I had claimed.

I swear I could hear the weeds and vine laughing, that will teach her. Lots of hard work and I am

almost winning the battle. The neighbours did try to keep it at bay for me but they get a bit nervous

about pulling up weeds and pruning anything in my garden. We see things slightly differently, LOL.

It is lovely to be back on island, and the neighbours missed us. Everyone stopping and asking

why we had been away so long, and welcoming us back. It also took us ages to get round the local market.

Stall holders stopping us, shaking hands, and saying hello. So then, the weather.....

My it's wet and windy. Torrential rain. Comes in great waves of it. Thundering across the roof, mostly

during the night but we have some really heavy downpours during the day as well. The ground is

completely sodden right through and the water now has nowhere to go. ( I can hear those weeds chuckling ).

The winds are a blowing. Very strong gusts at times. Enough to move the furniture on the balcony around.

Get caught in one of the gusts and you feel you are about to take off. We have had a couple of nice sunny days

but mostly it is cloudy and grey. Still we are back in shorts and not muffled up to our ears in woollen coats

and hats. So that's a bonus. We were lucky enough the other night to see a perfect moon bow out on the

Caribbean sea. Very pretty. Well we are now bang up to date I think. And all it leaves me with is to wish

you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS. Stay safe and enjoy the holiday season.

- Christmas cometh

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2013 08:05:41 -0400

We are definitely having Christmas cold chilly weather here in the valley! Yesterday was a stay on the ranch day. The weather was showery all day with gusty wind and some sporadic sunshine, not enough to make the solar water heater lighten up! All night we were battered with very heavy rain showers, sounded as if we were on the receiving end of a very lively waterfall! This kept us waking up intermittently! Today looks very much like it will be a repeat performance of yesterday. Good to chill and keep warm me thinks. I took this photo of an amazingly beautiful moth thought you all might like to see it.

Attachment: Moth 1.jpg
Description: JPEG image

- Cold very windy weather

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2013 17:32:51 -0400

So please tell us where this really cold very, very windy weather has come from?? Last night was extremely windy with a lot of heavy rain! Today we have had sunshine but wow the wind is really strong. Very, gusty and the temperature tonight is 65 degrees. The birds are very hungry with lots of ruffled feathers!! on the website the weather looks clear. Is anyone else having this winter weather. Could we have snow???????

brrrgh!

- Chilly winter weather

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2013 07:29:35 -0400

We have not posted for a while. We had the most horrible weather on Sunday it rained most of the day and was very windy. I unfortunately had to drive clients around to view properties in this really dreadful weather. On the drive home from Three Rivers at 5.15 p.m. I had a really bad drive back; it was as if a full on hosepipe was on the windscreen and I could not see any pot holes in the road because they were filled with water.... so a trip which should have taken half an hour took me an hour. Jaco Lad was getting worried and I was not happy at all I just prayed that there was no tree across the way or landslide. I arrived home safe and sound! Yesterday the weather had improved greatly and I took the day off to chill out and recover from the previous rigours.

This morning we have woken to blue skies with a few clouds scudding across the sky, it is chilly around 70 degrees. I am on the deck looking at the lush green lawn the trees, bamboo and the Christmas Pointsettia that is adorning our table, it sure is a very pretty sight. We definitely are in our winter now as it is chilly in the mornings and evenings, but very lucky as our home is cozy and sporting our natural tree decorating the living room. Christmas is around the corner and we can all relax until the beginning of another hurricane season.

- High winds and COLD.

From: Jackie Fullbrook <fullbrookt at gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 2 Nov 2013 20:02:32 +0000

Good morning, afternoon, evening ????

lost track of time here. This is not something I would normally do, reporting from the UK. Just thought I would let you know that we have had some pretty strong gusting winds here. Gusting up to 80 / 90mph.

Lots of trees down. Surf is up. Not too bad in the way of rain. A few odd showers, but it is getting cold here, so it is now time to return to some warmth. We have spent longer than we normally would in the UK, just waiting for our new grandson to make his appearance into the big wide world. And next year he will be joining us in the Caribbean, when our daughter and the boys come for a visit. You all stay safe. Looking forward to reporting from the Carib in the next few weeks.

- COOL

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2013 19:43:33 -0400

30 DAYS LEFT! If I was a betting Jaco Lass! The weather will be cool. We will have rain and stuff but we seriously feel nothing is brewing! Water too cold and Sahara dust. So chill and enjoy! Have a Kubuli and a rum if that is your tipple! I am not at all sure about the blessings.................... LOL

- Messy weather

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 10:38:13 -0300

Last night a very rough night. We had what sounded like a mini hurricane at 2.0 a.m. The rain poured and the wind howled, there was a lot of lightning and strangely, no thunder. The dogs came in and the weather raged for about an hour! There were a lot of branches down this morning. I am sitting on the deck writing this looking out onto a dismal grey day with the onset of showers. Looking at the website it looks like we could have this weather for a while yet.

The dogs are curled up and comfy the birds eating their hearts out pretending to be starving!! It is so good to be in the home strait of the hurricane season; let's hope we continue to come out unscathed through Nov!

- High winds

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 09:16:51 -0300

We were woken up several times in the night because of really heavy rainfall on the roof and roaring high winds! It sounded very much like a mini hurricane and- at one point - we heard a large crash and bang as a tree fell. This morning is dull and grey with a lot of gusting winds. There really is quite a chill here. The birds were literally knocking at the door for their food earlier; I was unable to sweep the deck first, the little blighters had to be fed at all costs! They are so very funny. Their tummies are full now. It looks like we could have some rough weather today - checking the website there could be more coming later in the week.

- RAIN

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 09:35:38 -0300

This is so sad we have woken up to a very rainy day!! We have our Creole Festival all this week which entails concerts in the Botanical Gardens. When it rains the Gardens get very muddy with foot traffic so this weather is really not good at all!

The clouds are on our lawn, it is a funny feeling being in the clouds. The birds are in heaven today as we bought them a treat yesterday, black grapes to go with their Crix biscuits and bird seed. The birds really love grapes - are they spoiled or what.

Here's to the weather cheering up today and hopefully for the rest of the week so we can all enjoy the Creole Festival!!

- Tropical Depression Day

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 20 Oct 2013 13:57:06 -0400

AS predicted the weather is very up and down. We are having bright periods then it get's very dark followed by a thunder and lightning storm. There has been a gozillionth of rain! At the moment 1.45 p.m. we are in a lull period hence writing this post. I suggest that everyone living in Dominica takes care on the road and is aware that landslides are more than just possible with the present situation. We are just chilling out, reading, after a great lunch of homemade bread topped with cherry tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and a great Butternut Squash soup! Tonight homemade chicken curry and naan bread. Going to watch some movies this afternoon. Everyone stay safe and be aware the weather will be with us for quite a few more hours.

- Breakfast in the clouds

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 20 Oct 2013 09:14:15 -0300

It looks like we are in for a day of bad weather. Right now the clouds are on the lawn and I am awaiting a crack of thunder and I suppose lightning. This has not come to pass as yet but I would say it could well be on the cards!

We are starting our Creole Festival this week and Dominica should be full of people and colour everyone wearing the national costume. It is a week of celebration and fun. Next weekend we have music in the Windsor Stadium with many well known groups coming to gig. We need the sunshine we don't want any messy weather!

Definitely a day today to be a couch potato, watch some old movies, curl up with a book, eat some seriously good food, washed down with a great vino........................ We can do this.

- Thunder and Lightning

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 18 Oct 2013 10:59:13 -0300

We have had two weird days! On Wednesday I was in Roseau all day. The sun shone and it was hot, hot, hot! As I approached our valley the skies were black and the rain had been pouring. I got home and heard that there had been the most terrible thunder and lightning storm in our valley directly over head!! Yesterday I was in Calibishie and we had no rain but the most horrendous rumbling thunder most of the morning with the odd bit of lightning! Today we have woken up to the most glorious day the sun is shining it is hot, hot, hot and I am home relaxing all day. Hopefully no thunder or lightning today! The weather looks pretty clear for the weekend although there is some weather crossing the Atlantic but it does not look too bad! We are nearly at the end of the hurricane season, only good things to come................................

- RAIN

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 8 Oct 2013 07:56:34 -0300

The last two days have been very strange! Loud bangs of thunder the odd flash of lightning which reminded me of an old man having a temper tantrum. The sun shone occasionally and it did rain a bit which was fine. Today has woken up to constant pouring, the sky is very overcast and the rain is falling lightly. There is very little breeze. Looking at the satellite picture it looks as if the islands from St. Lucia all the way above us are having the same weather. For some they will be jumping for joy as their cisterns will be filling up and their gardens getting a good wetting. We can tell it is now winter as the evenings are dark at 6.0 p.m!!!

- Saturday

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 5 Oct 2013 12:10:53 -0300

It has been hot, hot, hot all week! We are having the most pleasant weather so far this hurricane season has been good to us. Not long to go now until the end of the season!

Today is really cool and so lovely in the valley. The birds are chatting up a storm and still eating their breakfast. We can never be lonely in our valley. I have just watched an Agouti leisurely walk across the lawn, id-lie sniffing around as the dogs lie asleep on the deck! Our dogs are great hunters as a rule lucky escape for the Agouti......................... We live in the forest and have become apart of it as we have no neighbours nearby and live in a small cottage so nature is on our doorstep.

We are lucky enough to have the Jaco parrots come and visit us too. I have just painted this very good looking fellow.

Attachment: Jaco Parrot 1.jpg
Description: JPEG image

- Leslassa Miss Dominica

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2013 09:39:37 -0300

We are having the most wonderful September. The mornings start cloudless, there is not a breeze. The plants are so still that they look like statues the colours in the garden are a sight to behold, it seriously is good to be alive. We seem to have so many more birds that we are feeding and they are all chirping happily away while nibbling on their breakfast! Yesterday we took our two dogs Tippy and Chester to the river and we all had a river bath. Nobody else was around; it was so awesome the river was shimmering and crystal clear. The one thing we won't ever get over about living in Dominica is having the beautiful Layou river on our doorstep. Having the choice of the ocean or the river to swim in is truly amazing. We are all rooting for LESLASSA to win the Miss world competition this weekend. LESLASSA is currently lying 4th and we need votes for LESLASSA. We here in Dominica are having a problem voting because as usual they do not have Dominica on the list of countries FOR VOTING they just have Dominican Republic. Any of our readers out there that are interested please vote for a Caribbean Miss World especially from our Island of DOMINICA.

I would like to thank some of the readers of Stormcarib who have written saying they like my art work the latest lady Sindy from Germany. Thank you. I am posting my paintings of our hero Captain Jack Sparrow and Penelope Cruz of Pirates of the Caribbean.

Attachment: Cap'n Jack 1.jpg
Description: JPEG image

Attachment: P Cruz 1.jpg
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- Hot, Hot, Hot

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 20 Sep 2013 09:01:37 -0300

Here in Dominica we have had a really interesting week! Monday we had thunder and lightning in the evening and night! Tuesday was overcast but warm. Wednesday and Thursday have been hot,hot, hot!! Today there is not a cloud in the sky it looks like we are in for another very hot day, Jaco Ladd and I have to go to Roseau which will be baking hot!! We love it when we leave Roseau after a day in town coming back to our home in the country is so refreshing. Looking at the world we are feeling so sad for the people in Mexico with the devastation that Ingrid and Manuel have caused. So far in the Caribbean we have been lucky; long may our luck last - only really two months and change to go before the end of the hurricane season!

This weekend is the Miss World competition and our nominee Leslassa is doing really well, she is a beautiful young lady we are rooting for her here in Dominica. If any of you are interested do have a look at the website and maybe if you feel like it vote for our beautiful Leslassa!

I have just finished a painting of two of our Sisserou parrots (Imperial Parrots) male and female. I am posting the photo.

Attachment: Sisserous.jpg
Description: JPEG image

- Thunder and Lightning

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 15 Sep 2013 11:34:09 -0300

Well we were sitting happily on Mero Beach around 5.30 p.m. on Saturday! Suddenly in the distance there was a huge crash bang clap of thunder. We watched fascinated as the storm came towards us not fast but just came rolling across the ocean. We decided to make tracks for home before things got worse!!! Well we did miscalculate that one and ended up driving with the thunder banging and the lightning flashing until we reached our furry friends who were wagging their tails in delight queuing up to come indoors away from the storm. The storm did not last more than an hour. We had a great evening having dinner on the deck before hitting the sheets! 1.45 a.m. we were awoken with the crash of thunder and a bolt of lightning! We turned the electricity off and snuggled up listening to the storm which we think was the loudest and longest so far this season it lasted until 3.30 a.m. Yes the dogs were snuggled up cozily inside with us!! It is looking pretty clear on the satellite and we have a gorgeous sunny day. Everything looks clear for the time being on the weather front - we are over half way through the season!! At the moment it still feels good for no bad hurricanes this year! Fingers and toes crossed! Miss Dominica is doing a hectic tour with all the other contestants for the Miss World competition in her efforts to become Miss World very exciting!! We are watching Laslessa's progress and all routing for her success!!

- Sunshine

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 9 Sep 2013 09:06:07 -0300

Dominica has had a fantastic weekend. The weather has been really lovely. Dominica, and by extension Windsor Park Stadium, for the first time held a 20/20 cricket double header Windwards against Trinidad and Tobago. It was very exciting for everyone here and the stadium was packed a great party atmosphere. It was just sad the Windwards did not win. We are on a roll through this month because Leslassa Armour-Shillingford is representing Dominica in the Miss World competition, Dominica has been absent for 36 years! Leslassa is a really beautiful woman a lovely person, very talented and obviously all of us in Dominica are routing for her to win......................................... This would definitely put The Nature Island of Dominica on the worldwide map. Go Leslassa go girl!!

- Sunny day

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 4 Sep 2013 15:12:13 -0300

On the whole the last few days have not been too bad and not caused any major catastrophes on the island! Long may this last! Today is all about enjoying a very sunny day - the washing is perched in profusion on the line and drying quickly!! It looks very messy still out in the Atlantic so I think we can expect rainy weather tomorrow or even starting tonight. Re-watched the Perfect Storm the other night! What a movie and always a reminder of how angry and devastating the weather can be even though it lasts a couple of days or less. The power of the weather is no match for man!! So never take our weather in the/any season for granted................................ Just glad it is only for six months (and change!) of the year.

- Very grey and wet

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 2 Sep 2013 17:30:37 -0400

It looks like we are going to have a very wet night! Looking at the satellite photo's it looks like the weather has built itself up again, definitely doing some kind of warm storm dance....................... Nasty. If you don't have to go out anywhere tonight my advice would be to stay in, be cozy, chill out and stay safe!! Love the one your with

- Peaceful night

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 2 Sep 2013 09:18:06 -0300

It was a really good day yesterday here in Dominica. We had rain on and off but no thunder or lightning. Jaco Ladd and I had a really chilled out day, cooking, eating, shared a great bottle of wine and watched movies! Definitely a day for relaxation. We heard nothing all night the dogs were happily sleeping on the deck. We had a great nights sleep and this morning so far had one very heavy shower, the sky now has a lot of blue peaking through the clouds. Looking at the satellite image it looks like this weather is going to carry on for a while, everything seems to be stationary!

Yes,it's half way through the season. I love to read everything Dave says. The stormcarib writers are like a family and we have our own opinions. Everything Dave says this morning is true. The weather has a mind of it's own and is devastating when it decides to strike with all it's fury. A great deal of rain can actually to some of the islands like Dominica be as damaging as a hurricane but not so frightening. We have to be very aware of landslides and some of our roads are being undermined by water. There was a very terrible situation earlier this year when the road split in two killing two people who had no idea the road had disappeared due to a river running underneath the road which caused the road to disappear! The driver of the car had no chance to stop and the car ended up in the huge gulf that the water caused at least 50' deep and 100 yards wide!! There were three people in the vehicle and one survived and managed with all his injuries to bravely climb up to the road and to stop any other vehicles having the same fate. There are two roads which are very unstable here the Ponte Casse/ Canefiled road the weak part is Antrim and the road is always cracking and falling people feel that it is only a matter of time before the road drops which would be terrible and the Warner/Jimmit road has a very similar situation going on close to the Layou Valley Inn. Both these roads are very important so we hope very much that something can be done to stop anything catastrophic happening, Just one of the situations one has living on a island of 9 dormant volcanoes with lots of rivers, the water finds it's own way and it is very difficult to discern where and when the next disaster might happen. Let us all hope that the rest of the season is good to us.

- Messy weather

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 1 Sep 2013 10:10:58 -0300

It has been rainy weather on and off since late yesterday afternoon. The showers have been very heavy with some thunder and lightning! The dogs were in seventh heaven as we allowed them to sleep inside the house. Tippy our eldest dog is totally terrified of thunder and lightning! It is going to be a very dull rainy day today and it looks like it could continue through tomorrow. Rain in many ways can do more damage than a hurricane especially in Dominica which is very mountainous. Our rivers flood and we have landslides; so it is a bit precarious especially if you have to travel! Today is Sunday so we can just chill out and be couch potatoes. Sincerely hope the other islands who are getting a soaking don't get too many problems.

- Blue Skies

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 2013 08:42:18 -0300

The sky is bright blue with one puffy cloud scudding across the horizon. The birds are happily eating their breakfast and it is perfectly still not one branch is moving! We can hear the river in the valley winding it's way to the ocean. The different colour greens in the garden with our truly beautiful flowers is exquisite. It's so lucky to live in paradise, that is what we feel living in the Nature Island of Dominica. Looking at the weather coming across the Atlantic it looks very messy but with any luck will just dissipate. There really is a chill in the mornings and evenings bringing the change from Summer to Autumn. We wish Isabel in St. Croix a very Happy Golden Wedding weekend, hopefully the sun will shine on your very special day, congratulations!

- Autumn seems to cometh early

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 2013 11:57:40 -0300

We are having a very heavy showery day! There are clouds rising up from the river which gives the valley an eerie feel! The temperature is really nice. Our birds are in bird heaven as they now have grapes to eat with their Crix bisuits and bird seeds. We have our awnings out so they can eat without getting wet!! LOL too funny right. Jaco Ladd and I have taken the day off and we have a vegetable soup slowly cooking in the slow cooker and the bread dough is rising so lunch is taken care of big time!! It seems that we shall soon be entering into Autumn the evenings are drawing in a bit now! Hurricane season is half way over which is great. We are still keeping the cupboards full but feel that is the way they will stay................................

- Perfect in the Valley

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 24 Aug 2013 10:35:40 -0300

The birds are eating their scrumptious diet of bird seed, Crix biscuits and grapes.................. OK so the birds live in the best hotel in the valley. We had showers through the night and today the sun is shining we have a fantastic breeze the temperature is great. The garden is so green the vegetables are coming along a treat. Really enjoying the summer so far this year. I finished this painting recently a portrait of a of my very talented singing friend in New York. I love painting portraits. Going to paint today. Everyone enjoy your weekend.

Attachment: Lisa 1.jpg
Description: JPEG image

- Thunder Lightning and sunshine! Wow

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 17:33:51 -0400

Well, we are sitting here drinking a sun-downer!! What an amazing day! I stayed home to work and paint. Around 11.30 a.m. Tippy sticks her tail between her legs and trots indoors! Sure enough the skies go dark and there is a huge clap of thunder commenced by a bright flash of lightning. I grabbed my book and the dogs and sat inside our home for an hour until the storm went by! Lots of rain and now beautiful sunshine, dogs happily waiting for their dinner. We went swimming yesterday in the ocean and the ocean is not too warm for this time of the year so still hopeful for a good rest of the season without hopefully one really bad hurricane!! We hope everyone has a great weekend and the weather stays comfortable!!

- Cool Temperatures this morning

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2013 09:53:14 -0300

Dominica is enjoying really good weather at the moment and we are having a lot of sunshine, the odd shower and a fantastic breeze!! It looks like it is going to be a lovely day! I am taking time off to go to the beach, time out - but - I am in trouble this morning with the birds as I forgot to buy grapes for them, trust me they are squawking around my feet!! Talk about being spoiled!
It is nearly the end of August and no hurricanes on the horizon, long may this last. Yes of course everyone has to be vigilant and keep up their watch and the store cupboards full. As long as the ocean does not heat up, the Sahara dust keeps coming and we don't suddenly get a very hot spell, I still basically hope that we will not have a big hurricane.

I have just finished painting this flower, Dominica has wonderful flowers we are so very lucky.

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- Blue Skies

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 17 Aug 2013 10:03:14 -0300

What a beautiful morning! We have the most fantastic breeze and have had for the last few days. Our little birds are having such a wonderful time flying around eating all the food that we provide for them. The birds are really funny because if I sleep in they go outside the bedroom window and start making a really huge noise together singing their little hearts out. I am sure if I could interpret the birds would be singing, "Get up, get up now we are starving" LOL too funny. It is a weekend for fun, sun and the beach.

- Beautiful weather

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 2013 17:52:37 -0300

We are having fantastic weather sunny in the day time and rain at night what could be better!

There seems to be stuff coming off Africa but it is a few days away! Hopefully it will dissipate! If itI is like this tomorrow I am going to take myself off to the beach, test the temperature of the sea! We are nearly half way through the hurricane season, so far so good. Long may our luck last. We hope everyone has a great weekend.

Posting what I do for a hobby! My painting of the Pelicans are on the cover of the really good Dominican magazine Domitijen!

Attachment: Mag Cover 1.jpg
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- Wet, Windy Weekend

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2013 09:41:18 -0300

Have awoken to a sunny, windy morning after a very, windy, wet with some sunny periods weekend! We have actually enjoyed the time, watched some good movies and eaten some great food, really chilled out and ready for the week ahead.

We read reports from other islands and find it fascinating that some of the correspondents seem like they are waiting with baited breath for a hurricane to approach! Well, actually hurricanes are not fun at all we have been through many! I feel still that we will not have a bad storm season at all; the temperature of the ocean is not hot enough in my humble and hopeful opinion. The Sahara dust is still wending it's way across the Atlantic thankfully helpful in keeping the weather in check.

- Thunder and Lightning

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 10 Aug 2013 14:58:45 -0300

At 2.00am we were woken by huge flashes of lightning and then a loud crash of thunder. The rain was amazing on our roof, it sounded like we were living under a very heavy waterfall! This continued until 3.00. we then were able to sleep peacefully in fact we slept so well we overslept!! The birds when we eventually woke up were literally jumping up and down with hunger and squawking making a merry dance until I fed them! Oh the joys of living in the country!! We were supposed to go to a beach party today but we declined. All morning has been pretty bright but now it is 2.00 apres midi and we are experiencing grey skies and a lot of rain. It looks like it could be in for the rest of the day and maybe the night.

- Windy sunny Weather

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 3 Aug 2013 08:34:00 -0300

The last few days have been really refreshing we have had a fantastic breeze and a great deal of sunshine with the odd shower of rain. Hopefully, this will continue over the weekend which is a Bank Holiday for us in Dominica! We have to congratulate Miss Dominica on winning the JayCees Queen competition in Antigua last night! Brilliant and very well deserved. A beautiful lady from the beautiful Nature Island of Dominica in the Caribbean!

- Saturday

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 27 Jul 2013 11:56:04 -0300

What a beautiful morning! The sun is shining the birds are singing, the dogs are resting and we are chilling out! It has been a really busy week, so glad that we can rest this weekend. Looking out at the garden the lawn has just been cut and is looking fantastic, there are red gingerlilies, bright golden yellow Helleconia's, wonderful purple and orange Orchids a profusion of colour really picturesque. The bamboo by the house is gently whispering in the breeze and the Nellis birds which are large black birds with a bent beak - four of them are having a great time in the garden flying from plant to plant, they are like old men; it looks like they are gossiping and making comments on the shrubs, they are really funny to watch. It is definitely good to be alive. Home made Pita bread and Babaganoush for lunch. A really easy Saturday!! Dorian has gone way above us and as our Bajan friend Richard said last night, Dominica can breath a huge sigh of relief as our beautiful Nature Island has always been known to have bad storms beginning with D!

- Thunder and Lightning

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 10:50:51 -0300

We had a pretty rough night with the tropical wave. Our dog Tippy started whining about 11.00 p.m.! Tippy is terrified of thunder and lightning and we always bring her and Chester into our home in bad weather. She has an amazing way of picking up thunder well before we do so last night we thought she was putting it on so she could come in' so at first we did not let the dogs in. About 10 minutes later there was the loudest bang of thunder. I flew out of bed let the dogs inside our home and switched off the power! We really did not get much sleep at all. It was odd we had heavy showers with a lot of thunder and lightning - everything would then go perfectly still until the next bought of heavy rain thunderballed. This weather continued until around 5.30 a.m! It looks much brighter now with some sunshine trying to peak through the clouds. The Tropical Wave seems to more or less have passed. The temperature is really pleasant and there is a lovely breeze everything in the garden is looking amazing - fresh and green!

The little birds this morning were very hungry and came around us early, just reminding us to put food out for them as they were obviously really hungry after their rough night!!

I would imagine that all flights will be as normal today and the weather looks pretty clear for the next couple of days.

- Great rainy weather

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 18:32:06 -0300

It has been interesting over the last few days! We have had lots of sunshine! Today we are having lots of showers and thunder. It is very refreshing! We know our friends Jackie and Tom are sweltering in the UK and enjoying it. Go guys.

We are going to snuggle up listen to the rain, drink a good bottle of wine and watch a movie!

- Not too bad...

From: Alex Staunton <dtkcomp2002 at yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 9 Jul 2013 08:30:32 -0700 (PDT)

Greetings from the Nature Isle!
So far we have had two decent convective bands from TS Chantal with another
about to commence- she is not a very powerful Lady at this point but she&#x27;s
not to be trifled with by any means- so far gusts have been in the order of
30-35 knots with fluctuations- as I type the rain is driving in with the wind
and the Ocean is churning wildly- definitely a day for books etc...
The power was shut off early this morning- ahead of the first band before-10a.m.
This I presume was a precautionary measure in the interest of All- however, thus
far Internet, Cable, Water and Telephone communications are fine here on the
North East of the island.

I&#x27;m also fairly near to The Melville Hall airport and there was air
activity quite recently- though I wouldn&#x27;t have wanted to be on such a
flight - given the conditions. I suppose that landing in sync with the
prevailing winds and gusts can be feasible after all. Kudos to the airport
management for being able to keep the airport safe and open for so long given
the prevailing conditions. This is a huge improvement and a SURPRISE - to many
who often think that the main airport closes with every inclement bout of
weather -as was probably the case decades ago.

So far it appears that the worst of the weather is in the south and along the
West Coast- this has been a sort of trend this year and even last year- seems
that the West coast has seen a lot more wet activity than the East Coast. I hope
those on the West coast are prepared given the trajectory and current location
of Chantal&#x27;s center...Preliminary reports indicate some damage on the South
coast but nothing major...I pray and hope it remains so- it could be a long
day...All work and School engagements have reportedly been cancelled at this
point.

May the Good Lord Jesus grant us his every Blessing and grace to rise above
whatever may come this Hurricane season. Keep safe All!

- Chantal has passed

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 9 Jul 2013 15:23:41 -0400

We have not heard from others but our experience of Tropical Storm Chantal was one of strong gusts of wind with fleeting rain. Our neighbours were walking on the road and vehicles only a couple seemed to be travelling fine! We have a huge branch across our drive but otherwise no real damage. Our bamboo has been beaten up a lot.

This year we are very pleased that we have the Galaxy 4 Smartphone and can keep in touch with the world while we are having bad weather this makes a huge difference!! We have to say this phone has changed our life as we are able to stay on the internet through the phone! Technology is truly amazing and to us very helpful. We hope everyone throughout the Caribbean stayed safe. It looks like Chantal will gather speed and could be nasty for others!!

- Chantal

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 9 Jul 2013 14:39:12 -0300

We have not had too bad here in the valley. A big branch down in the drive. Not too much rain. Just very strong gusts. No electricity. I am using my Galaxy 4 phone for this. Brilliant

- Chantal

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 9 Jul 2013 11:36:58 -0300

Chantal arrived about half an hour ago. Not much rain gusty strong winds and some thunder! Traffic still on the road. We have no electricity.

- Very tranquil night

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 9 Jul 2013 05:55:54 -0400

Our dogs slept in the house they were very well behaved. We had a very peaceful night with hardly any rain! We have awoken to a pretty bright morning with no rain. The tree frogs are singing a wonderful tune. It looks like Chantal has dispersed a bit. Hopefully we won't get too much rain or thunder and lightning today. It is definitely going to be a baking bread and homemade soup day. We have some good books. A day hopefully of blissful rest and no damage to the island or any one here on Dominica. We hope this will be the case for the rest of the islands.

- Chantal

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 8 Jul 2013 19:13:02 -0300

We are sitting on our deck. Watching the greyness and the rain. We have put the shutters up on the bedroom and bathroom windows! I hate lightning so should sleep tight tonight. We will let our dogs sleep inside tonight as we only now have two dogs. We wish for everyone to stay safe and hope that Chantal is a pussycat!

- Stormy weather

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 8 Jul 2013 07:53:26 -0300

We had a great deal of rain in the night accompanied by strong gusts of wind! We have awoken to a very grey wet morning! Definitely time to stock up our cupboards and be prepared for tropical storms and hurricanes! Well done Murray a wonderful match and win. We had a lot of fun yesterday with our friends watching the tennis.

- Fabulous Day Sunshine all the way

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 1 Jul 2013 13:52:12 -0300

Well the sun has got her hat off today. A beautiful day in Dominica. The temperature in the valley is perfect! We have a fantastic breeze the temperature is just right. I am having a chilled out day watching Wimbledon and hopefully Murray winning his match. Our dogs are lying flat out in the shade taking a snooze, shear bliss boy is it good to be alive

- Rainy night

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 30 Jun 2013 07:58:20 -0400

We had really quite a peaceful night. Some heavy showers a very light thunder and lightning storm for about 10 minutes at around 5.0 a.m.! It is dull and dark. The ground is very waterlogged so I hope there have been no landslides. We are glad to say this so far has turned out to be a storm in a teacup. We wonder weather the Sara sand affects the satellite image as far as this season has gone the predictions of bad weather luckily have been off balance. I hope this does not make us feel cry wolf!!

- Rain Cometh

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 29 Jun 2013 17:00:13 -0300

We have had a very pleasant day in Dominica so far. The skies are still bright it is starting to rain slightly and it is 4.0 pm. We again have a feeling that there is not going to be too bad weather for the next 24 hours. So far we have been lucky this hurricane season. We have not had very much in the way of bad weather just being wet and the tree frogs having a field day. No doubt getting sore throats from constant singing!

It also seems as though the Sara dust is helping keep the weather at bay.

We are having a great time watching Glastonbury Festival live on TV! The Rolling Stones will soon be on so if it rains it's OK! As I am writing this the sun has come out in the valley. Great! We hope everyone has a good weekend and stays pretty safe, that the weather is not as bad as it appears on screen!

- Hi from the UK.

From: Jackie Fullbrook <fullbrookt at gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 28 Jun 2013 17:45:08 +0100

Quick hello to everyone from the UK,

keeping a watch on the weather from here to there. See you all seem to be getting

a fair bit of the wet stuff. Here in the UK it has been grey, very grey, windy and

cold. O so cold. The rain's been steady all day today. To be expected though.

Glastonbury weekend. Mud glorious mud.

You all take good care and stay safe.

- Weather Change

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 25 Jun 2013 16:46:15 -0400

OK folks it is raining Cats and Dogs so much for the sunshine. Looks like we are going to have a load of bad weather all night! We are glad we are home, warm and comfy with some good films to watch. Great home made dinner with some good vino!!

- The odd shower but mainly Sunny

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 25 Jun 2013 10:27:25 -0300

The weather has been pretty good over the last three days. We have had quite a lot of sunshine with lots of windy weather. The temperature has been great and we even went to the beach at the weekend a couple of times and swam the sea is a good temperature for this time of the year. I truly feel that the hurricane season will not be too bad at all! Fingers crossed. It looks like a good sunny day today!

- OH Goodness yet another grey day!

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:00:16 -0300

OK folks enough is enough. We are fed up of having to shower in cold water because there is no sun to heat our solar panels! The Tree Frogs are getting very tired because they are singing constantly, so their noise is getting a little less and a bit tattered! Last night when we checked www.stormcarib.com the weather looked terrible but nothing happened all night other than the odd shower. It is actually very difficult knowing from day to day what to expect! We are sure the Sahara dust also is playing a huge part in the weather system here in the Caribbean. We just need sun on our backs, in the garden and on the ocean.........................................

- Overcast day

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:56:05 -0300

I had a fun day at Mero teaching my friend how to make pizza dough! The weather was not bad at all but now I am writing this the weather is looking very bleak! I think we are in for a miserable night! I am glad we will be tucked up in bed!

- Very Windy Happy Father's Day

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 16 Jun 2013 12:59:31 -0300

We are having really, really ghusty winds very, very strong indeed. The sun is shinning though and the garden is drying up nicely.

We hope all those Fathers have a fantastic day.

- SUNSHINE

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 15 Jun 2013 12:15:26 -0300

Hip, hip, hooray the sun has got it's hat off and it's coming out to play!! Brilliant, long may it last!

- Sunny weather please~~

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 15 Jun 2013 09:27:32 -0300

Once again it is the weekend and guess what we have woken up to more rain and gusty winds what a real surprise....................... OK we live in the Caribbean because it is supposed to be hot and sunny all year round with a few hurricanes and the odd tropical depression but this weather is well beyond a joke! We need the sunshine and with Fathers day tomorrow we definitely need the sun! How many loaves of bread and pots of homemade soup can a girl make..................haha ............Finally going insane!! Please, please stop raining!

- Grey Rainy day

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:37:22 -0300

Having looked at the satellite picture on stormcarib it looks like the island should be rain free but looking at the sky and hearing and seeing the rain falling we feel it might be today just like it was yesterday! Rain and gusty winds. We have a cacophony of sound with the tree frogs, birds who are demanding that we feed them squawking at us at the patter of the rain on the leaves and roof it really is quite noisy! I am definitely in a bread baking mood and have attached a photo. Nothing quite like homemade bread and soup on a chilly grey day!

Attachment: 20130609_092341.jpg
Description: JPEG image

- TERRIBLE WEATHER ABORT

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:51:19 -0300

The weather is terrible! It is just pouring I am sure no flights can come into Dominica now!!

- Bad visibility

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 13 Jun 2013 14:42:00 -0300

Hi everyone just letting all of you out there that Dominica is covered in rain and bad weather. Visibility is not good at all. So anyone in the air take note.

- Wind and Rain

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 13 Jun 2013 09:08:41 -0300

Yesterday was mixed weather wise! Most of the day was quite windy there was some good sunshine between the odd shower, but managed to get the washing dry!! It rained a lot of the night with quite a lot of gusting wind. This morning is a start to a grey day in the valley so far and quite a lot of strong wind. We really are looking forward to a few days of hot weather to convince us that summer is a'comin! Even the tree frogs are not in evidence so much, I guess they all have sore throats from over singing

- RAIN

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 10:03:48 -0300

Since Sunday we have been in the midst of a tropical wave. DA is just experiencing a great deal of cloud and heavy showers. I must say it really is quite depressing. The temperature for June is very cool, sometimes below 70F. We sincerely need the sunshine. Our tomatoes are drowning; it is not good weather for the garden at all. There is though one species that is thriving and communally singing loudly, amazing chorus from the Tree Frogs, loving it!! Hopefully this will soon pass.

- RAIN

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 28 May 2013 08:27:03 -0300

Basically it has been raining since Sunday on and off all day and all nights! It really is unusual for May. In June we are supposed to be in the rainy (hurricane) season!! It is very miserable we sincerely do not need any more rain, we will end up with webbed feet!!

- Gearing up for the Hurricane Season!

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 26 May 2013 09:16:14 -0300

Well the month of June looms ever nearer and we are hearing predictions that this will be a very hyperactive season for the Caribbean!! We are no experts - but putting our pennyworth in - we at the moment don't think so. We have never forgotten the worst hurricane we experienced which was Hurricane Luis in 1995 in Antigua. The weather that year had been very hot even through the winter and the ocean was extremely hot, not warm but definitely hot! This we feel is the danger sign as the hurricanes tend to form more efficiently if the water below is gurgling. At present in Dominica we have been experiencing very interesting weather through the month of May, it has been cool and squally; the ocean certainly is not really that warm. We sincerely hope that we are right! None of us want a hurricane of any kind let alone more than one! We are taking stock of what we need for the season, batteries for the torches, oil for the lamps, gasoline for the generator and various foods! Thank you Dave for your wonderful support and the website.

- RAIN

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 15 May 2013 09:55:23 -0300

Yesterday it rained on and off all day! I had a day to myself so stayed home and baked some awesome French baguettes which we had for lunch with home made vegetable soup. It rained all night and so far this morning it is pouring! Looking on stormcarib it just looks like the blob of bad weather is over us..

- Chilly Cold Rainy weather

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2013 12:01:19 -0300

We had a fairly good night although it was really chilly in the evening. I managed to get out yesterday afternoon and go into Roseau to do some serious shopping to revitalize the pantry! Today it has been raining on and off since waking up around 6.30 a.m. We have not heard any traffic coming up the valley so assume that it is blocked. When I went to town yesterday there were a couple of landslips on the way to the Warner junction with just about room for my 4x4 to get through, I almost had second thoughts about this wayward expedition but I am so glad I did go and get provisions. It's always necessary to insure that one has necessary victuals with the onset of the hurricane season looming on 1st June, so April is a little early!! It looks like the rain is in for the day.

- Getting Hammered.

From: Jackie Fullbrook <fullbrookt at gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2013 09:02:22 -0500

Good morning to you all,

from very dry to very, very, wet. The island is getting hammered. Land slides across

the island. Roads flooded. Rivers swollen and bursting their banks. Rocks and boulders

across roads. And the very worst of it is up in the Pond Casse area where a 40ft. deep

chasm appeared across the road. Unfortunately two people have lost their lives when the

bus they were travelling in ended up in the chasm. Very sad.

Our back balcony is pretty well sheltered from wind and rain. Not this morning though.

The whole balcony got a good soaking. I haven't checked the front yet but that is probably

a paddling pool by now. Watching the run off from the Roseau river, in between the whiteouts,

and the mud is going for miles out to sea. Hopefully this trough we are in will pass soon.

You all take care. Enjoy your day. Drive safe.

- RAIN, RAIN AND MORE RAIN

From: Lisette Stevens <jaco.lass at gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2013 11:38:02 -0300

Dominica has been deluged by rain over the last 48 hours! It was particularly bad all through last night and we actually got some lightning and had to let our dog Tippy sleep in the house with us - Tippy is like me terrified of lightning. We woke up to very sad news that the main road opened up between Ponte Casse and the Emerald pool near Shayanns bar this morning around 5.30 a.m. The road has developed a 40' chasm through it. A jeep travelling towards Roseau drove/fell into the hole and two people have died, a third managed to get out and is being treated at the local hospital. The road between us and the Hillsborough bridge is closed due to a landslide by the old Layou Hotel and the Layou river has run amok again. This is supposed to be the dry season. We seriously need some sunshine. It looks though that we could get more rain in the next 24 hours.

- Incessant rains...

From: Alex Staunton <dtkcomp2002 at yahoo.com>
Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2013 05:37:45 -0700 (PDT)

Greetings to All, Thus far in what has turned out to be more like an August, September set up for moisture levels- we have received- about 260mm (Wednesday's rain episode) -if not more at some areas on the East Coast. Yesterday delivered about 80mm and today the skies are still dripping...sadly, yet unconfirmed reports of a road fatality as well.

Let's All keep safe and May God give Continued Strength and Grace to All those affected -in Jesus' name we will Overcome all obstacles.

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