For the latest information on storm activity in the Cayman Islands, as well as information on how to prepare for hurricane season, visit Storm Centre.
Update – 12:40am, 6 Oct.: Residents along Seven Mile Beach and the south coast are being urged to take precautions as rough seas and significant wave action are expected to accompany the passage of Hurricane Delta.
Government Information Services, in a 12:30am weather bulletin, said Cayman can expect rough seas and significant wave action Tuesday.
“Tropical storm conditions are expected to begin in Grand Cayman around 7am Tuesday morning. Residents in the Seven Mile Beach area and along the south coast should take precautions by moving to higher floors where possible or seek shelter, due to forecasted wave action,” it said.
The storm is currently located 180 miles south of Grand Cayman. Its maximum sustained winds have increased to 80 miles per hour.
The Red Cross Shelter on Huldah Avenue has been opened and the John Gray High School shelter will open at 5am. Pets are welcome at the John Gray shelter.
All other shelters are on standby, based on need.
“Savannah Gully and surrounding area residents are urged to exercise caution due to potential flooding and should avoid driving if possible as water can be deep and may cause vehicular damage,” the GIS statement added.
Everyone is advised to stay sheltered and avoid the shoreline, which includes beaches, for the next 48 hours and to assess how rough seas may impact their plans for shelter during the storm, it added.
The National Emergency Operations Centre can be contacted at 949-6555 for non-emergency-related matters. All emergencies should be directed to 911.
The next National Weather Service advisory is expected at 4am.
Below are audio updates from Hazard Management Cayman Islands Director Danielle Coleman.
Update – 5 Oct., 9:30pm: Cayman Islands National Weather Service forecasters expect “very large” and “potentially dangerous” waves to begin impacting Grand Cayman’s western and southern coasts as Hurricane Delta moves west.
The change to the forecast track for Hurricane Delta will potentially bring the storm closer to the Cayman Islands, according to Government Information Services.
“This increases the likelihood that the islands will be impacted by tropical storm-force winds, although forecasters say the storm’s track is still changing. Furthermore as a result of the change in direction, increasing wave action is expected on the south and west coasts as the hurricane moves past,” GIS said.
The storm is currently located 180 miles south of Grand Cayman.
Its maximum sustained winds have increased to 80 miles per hour.
Delta was upgraded from a tropical storm to a hurricane Monday evening after the Hurricane Hunter aircraft collected data from the system, the US National Hurricane Center said earlier this evening.
The storm is the ninth hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season.
“Persons are advised to avoid the shoreline for the next 48 hours and to assess how rough seas may impact their plans for shelter during the storm. The Red Cross Shelter on Huldah Avenue opened at 7 p.m. and all other shelters are on standby if needed,” the GIS statement added.
The NWS, in its previous 7:30pm bulletin, said a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Hurricane Hunter aircraft recently passed directly over Cayman on a reconnaissance mission into the cyclone and confirmed maximum sustained winds are 75 miles per hour, making Delta a Category 1 hurricane.
Delta is now 220 miles south-southeast of Grand Cayman and its present movement is west-northwest near 8 miles per hour.
The NWS said the storm is expected to pass well off to the southwest of Grand Cayman, but “large battering waves” are possible on the west coast of Grand Cayman as the hurricane moves towards the Yucatan Peninsula.
“While it is not anticipated that the Cayman Islands will be affected by storm surge or hurricane force winds, it is looking increasingly likely that very large (and potentially dangerous) waves could begin impacting the west side of Grand Cayman, including Seven Mile Beach and the port of George Town, as the Hurricane moves off to the west, away from Grand Cayman,” the NWS said.
Delta’s track continues to jog further to the south than originally expected. The forecast now calls for Cayman to be “brushed” by tropical storm winds early on Tuesday morning,” NWS Deputy General John Tibbetts said Monday at a government press conference.
A tropical storm warning remains in effect for the Cayman Islands, including Little Cayman and Cayman Brac.
“Additional rapid strengthening is expected during the next 24 hours”
The NWS said hurricane-force winds presently extend outward up to 15 miles from the centre of Hurricane Delta and tropical-storm-force winds extend up to 70 miles from the centre.
“On the forecast track, the center of Delta is expected to pass southwest of the Cayman Islands early Tuesday. Additional rapid strengthening is expected during the next 24 hours and Hurricane Delta could attain major hurricane status before approaching the Yucatan Peninsula on Wednesday,” it said.
Delta is expected to produce three to five inches of rain across the Cayman Islands, according to the NWS. Gusty winds are also likely on Tuesday morning.
Hurricane warnings are in effect for the Cuban province of Pinar del Rio, Tulum to Rio Lagartos, Mexico and Cozumel.
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