Residents of the Cayman Islands can now breathe a sigh of relief as another potential catastrophic storm, Hurricane Felix, passed some 300 miles south of Grand Cayman.
Just over two weeks ago we were saying how fortunate we were that another powerful storm, Hurricane Dean, stayed south of us by a little more than 100 miles.
Although it’s great news that neither storm came very close to any of the Cayman Islands, it is also very sobering to realise that in just 15 days, two Category 5 hurricanes came into the western Caribbean Sea.
Perhaps even more sobering is the fact that the Atlantic hurricane season hasn’t even reached its peak yet, and that historically the Cayman Islands has been most affected by hurricanes during the months of September and October.
Having a Category 4 or 5 hurricane in the western Caribbean Sea used to be a rather rare occurrence. However, in just the last three years, six hurricanes – Ivan, Dennis, Emily, Wilma, Dean and Felix – have all reached Category 4 or Category 5 status in the western Caribbean.
It seems there is no such thing as a minor Category 1 or 2 hurricane in this region anymore; any storm that makes it to this part of the Caribbean seems to go straight to Category 4 or 5.
It doesn’t take a scientist to realise something is amiss. But the scientists are here to tell us what that something is: global warming.
The World Meteorological Organisation’s Sixth International Workshop on Tropical Cyclones last December concluded that not only is global warming at least partially to blame for the warmer sea surface temperatures that help develop hurricanes in the Atlantic, but that it is also clearly affecting the peak strength of the storms once they form.
Because the waters of the western Caribbean are some of the warmest in the Atlantic basin, stronger hurricanes are more likely in Cayman’s general area.
On top of that risk, the Arctic ice cap has now melted more than at anytime in recorded history. Some scientists predict the melting will raise the world’s sea levels, an occurrence low-lying places like the Cayman Islands can little afford.
Higher seas could also make major hurricanes even more dangerous because of the potential for higher storm surge.
For those who still believe global warming is a myth, just pay attention to the world around us; it’s real and it’s already affecting the Cayman Islands.
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