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.
Caymanian Anne Rice is counting her blessings after surviving Hurricane Helene’s passage over her St. Petersburg, Florida home, but with a potential storm on the horizon she, like many here in Cayman, is gearing up for what could be another hit.
“I had my meltdown not from knowing the road ahead, but from all the wiggly creatures Helene left in my apartment. [Hurricane] Ivan brought lobsters. I will never lose the fact of how blessed I am,” Rice told the Compass Monday as she recounted her Helene experience.
Rice said she has a busy road ahead filling out forms and waiting for inspections for her home, but she was grateful for the mercies and support she has received.
“We have the best governor. St. Petersburg is a close-knit community. People are always kind and caring. Example: someone had an extra mop and knew I did not have one and there was none to buy. That mop gift was life changing,” she said.
She said her employer, Amazon, has given her three weeks off to get things done so “I’m feeling blessed”.
Rice’s community never lost power, she said in a Facebook post, adding that around 1am Helene rolled into her community, but they had been prepared.
Over in Valrico, Florida resident and Caymanian Velma Powery-Hewitt said she is keeping a watchful eye on the system that is developing in the western Caribbean.
She said when Helene brushed past her county last week she got some minor wind damage to her fence, and there were high gusts and a lot of rain.
“I’m Caymanian. I’m sorry, I don’t sleep in storms. I was up, I stayed up because you don’t know. I was up to like 5 o’clock [in the morning]. It just rained and gusts of winds. I mean for some time I thought ‘Oh am I going to lose a part of the screening of my lanai?’ But that didn’t happen,” Powery-Hewitt said.
Development under close watch
She said she was safely further inland when the storm passed, but with the new system forming she will be restocking her water just in case.
“Looking at that system, you are just like ‘Well, here it goes. It is what it is… it’s hurricane season.’ I’m just praying that it doesn’t form, because a lot of people will not have recovered within this time. There’s a lot of suffering on the water side [of Florida],” she said.
Caymanian Shenice McField, who lives in Jacksonville, Florida, said her family was fortunate with their Hurricane Helene experience.
“We fared well without damage and experienced limited extreme weather conditions. For that, we are grateful, especially when we consider the tremendous damage done in other parts of Florida and North Carolina,” she told the Compass.
She said she feels some disquiet as she looks at predictions for upcoming storms.
“As we remain in the heart of hurricane season, there is still some anxiety, especially given the projections for more dangerous storms heading our way in the coming week or so. I strongly believe in the importance of staying vigilant and prepared, and we hope for the safety of all those in the path of any future hurricanes,” McField said.
Spring Hill, Florida resident Rebecca Cahajla, nee DuQuesnay, who grew up in the Cayman Islands, and her 15-year-old son Sebastian, a certified storm spotter with the US National Weather Service, are also keeping watch for developing systems.
“I was very concerned with what might be brewing in your vicinity and making its way into the Gulf of Mexico. Sebastian is not concerned right now even though it’s a similar weather setup. There are other obstacles that may just bring a sloppy mess across Florida,” she said.
Certain communities, she added, do not need any drop of rain, “a sloppy mess would be much better than an organised system. We just have to wait and see, but right now there’s no immediate concern in this household.”
She added that right now the trend “is a weak system being picked up by a front. Praying that’s the setup in play.”
Mother and son both say they are watching closely for impacts on Cayman.
What’s ahead for Cayman
The Cayman Islands National Weather Service said that locally there will be isolated showers starting Monday night as excess moisture lingers over the western Caribbean as a tropical wave, which is over Cayman, moves further west.
Radar images show that isolated showers in and around the Cayman area are drifting towards the northwest, the NWS said in its Monday forecast.
The US National Hurricane Center has also marked an area over the northwest Caribbean with a 40% chance of development over the next seven days.
The National Weather Service said it will continue to monitor this area for any development.
The NHC said, in a Monday advisory, that the trough of low pressure located over the southwestern Caribbean Sea continues to produce some disorganised showers and thunderstorms.
“Environmental conditions could become conducive for gradual development, and a tropical depression could form in a few days while the system is over the southern Gulf of Mexico or
northwestern Caribbean Sea. Interests along the U.S. Gulf Coast should continue to monitor the progress of this system,” the advisory said.
The system has a 10% chance of formation over the next 48 hours and a 40% chance over the next seven days.
On Sunday night, the NWS issued a bulletin stating that there are some concerns over potential flooding due to this system.
“There is the potential for strong winds across the Cayman Islands, this would result in rough seas, especially in and around showers. A small craft advisory is in effect for Wednesday and Thursday, October 2 and 3,” the bulletin said.
The NWS said at this stage there is a lot of uncertainty relating to the exact location and the general strengthening of this system.
On Tuesday, Cayman can expect partly cloudy skies with cloudy spells with a 60% chance of morning showers and possible thunder, according to the Monday forecast.
Temperatures will rise to the low 90s°F, with a heat index near 107°F.
Winds will be southeast at 10 to 15 knots and seas will be slight to moderate with wave heights of 2 to 4 feet.
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