Several houses and a building in West Bay were damaged last Friday by strong, unexplained winds.
The 911 Emergency Communications Centre received two calls from members of the public around 12.30 pm.
The Royal Cayman Islands Police responded to the calls and reported that a house on Simion Crescent was damaged, and that the Batabano Plaza also received some damage. In addition, another home on Scholar’s Drive sustained damage to windows.
The police said the National Meteorological Service was investigating the weather activity, but Senior Manager Fred Sambula said there was little the Service could do without speaking to witnesses.
‘I am in no position to comment [about what happened],’ Mr. Sambula said. ‘There are no eyewitness reports. All we know was the result.’
Although 911 received two calls from people who apparently witnessed the phenomenon, RCIPS Media Liaison Deborah Denis said all calls to 911 are confidential, and therefore 911 wasn’t allowed to tell the Meteorological Services who it was that called.
Mr. Sambula said he would not speculate on the cause of the disturbance, but he did say there was some instability in the atmosphere on Friday.
Other than a tornado, other weather phenomena that can cause localised wind damage include a whirlwind or a dust devil, which are rotating updrafts, and a microburst, which is a downburst similar to but distinctive from a tornado.
Mr. Sambula said whirlwinds do occur in the Cayman Islands, usually on hot days. He explained that heat rising very quickly from the ground causes the phenomenon.
Microbursts, which are also known as wind shear, are known hazards for aircraft and have been the cause of several crashes over the years. Mr. Sambula said the only way to determine if there is a microburst is with Doppler radar, a piece of equipment the Meteorological Services does not have.
‘Hopefully some day,’ he said.
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