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 10pm Friday 23 Sept: Tropical Storm Ian has formed and is currently 680 miles east-south-east of Grand Cayman, the US National Hurricane Center has said in a Friday night advisory.
With maximum sustained winds of 40 miles-per-hour with higher gusts, the storm is projected to intensify to a hurricane before arriving near the Cayman Islands late Sunday.
On Friday evening the Cayman Islands was placed under a Hurricane Watch in anticipation of the forthcoming severe weather conditions.
A Hurricane Watch means that hurricane force winds are likely to impact the Cayman Islands within 48 hours.
Ian is moving west-north-west at 12 miles-per-hour with a minimum central pressure of 1005 MB or 29.68 inches, according to the report.
The NHC said, in its latest advisory that a westward or west-northwestward motion is expected through early Sunday for the storm.
“A turn toward the northwest is forecast late Sunday, followed by a north-northwestward turn by late Monday.
“On the forecast track, the centre of Ian is forecast to move across the central Caribbean Sea through Saturday, pass southwest of Jamaica on Sunday, and pass near or over the Cayman Islands Sunday night and early Monday. Ian will then approach western Cuba on Monday,” it said.
The NHC said strengthening is forecast during the next few days, and Ian is expected to become a hurricane Sunday night.
“Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 35 miles (55 km) from the centre,” it added.
Hazard Management Cayman Islands has said that hurricane shelters/emergency medical centres will be open to the public on Sunday 25 September.
The following hurricane shelters have been activated:
o Sir John A. Cumber Primary School
o John Gray High School (Pet friendly)
o Bodden Town Primary School
o Clifton Hunter High School (Pet friendly)
o East End Civic Centre
o Cayman Islands Red Cross Building
Each of the six shelters, with exception of the Red Cross Building, also serves as a designated Emergency Medical Centre.
The Aston Rutty Civic Centre in Cayman Brac will be open as an emergency shelter at 2pm on Sunday 25 September.
“Additional shelters activations across all three islands will be announced as needed, depending on the intensity and forecasted track of the tropical cyclone,” HMCI added in a post on its Facebook page.
4pm update: Cayman Islands residents can expect to begin experiencing hurricane-force winds as soon as Sunday night, according to the Cayman Islands National Weather Service, if a growing tropical depression in the eastern Caribbean continues along its projected path, which would take it directly over all three islands.
As of 4pm Friday, 23 Sept. the weather system, currently called Tropical Depression Nine, was still producing maximum sustained winds of 35 miles per hour – four miles shy of a tropical storm. Forecasters say the system is moving in a west-northwesterly direction at 15 mph.
Speaking with the Cayman Compass, CINWS forecaster Allan Ebanks said the current modules show the system developing into a Category 1 hurricane by 2am Monday, 26 Sept., at which point it will have already made landfall across all three islands.
“The onset of tropical-storm-force winds are expected from 11pm Sunday… the closest point of approach is about 24 miles east of Grand Cayman which is pretty much over the Cayman area,” Ebanks said.
Residents who live in low-lying and coastal areas could experience significant flooding and should consider seeking shelter as the storm approaches.
“Residents can expect hurricane force winds of up to 82 mph across all three islands,” said Ebanks. “The offset of hurricane-force winds would be at 8am Monday… and the offset of the tropical-force winds will be Monday at around 1pm, at which time the island will be given the all-clear.”
For a full list of storm shelters and preparedness advice, click here. Additional information can be found at the Cayman Prepared website.
Further east, another four systems continue to brew – Hurricane Fiona, Tropical Storm Gaston, and Tropical Storm Hermine – as well as a tropical wave located in the central Atlantic Ocean.
None of those storms poses any immediate threat to the Cayman Islands.
Original story:
The Cayman Islands National Weather Service has issued a Hurricane Alert as a tropical depression tracks towards the islands.
A Hurricane Alert is issued when a notification is received that a hurricane or tropical storm is likely to strike the Cayman Islands within the next 72 hours.
The projected path of Tropical Depression Nine could see the weather system impact the Cayman Islands on Monday, if it maintains its current forecast track.
As of Friday morning, the weather system was located in the eastern section of the Caribbean sea, off the coast of Colombia.
Forecasters say the system, which is currently a tropical depression, is likely to become a tropical storm later tonight, while it continues to travel through the central Caribbean, where it is expected to meet favourable conditions for further development.
In a post on the Hazard Management Facebook page, the agency warned, “The depression is expected to approach Jamaica and the Cayman Islands as an intensifying tropical storm, potentially developing into a hurricane as it advances towards the Cayman Islands.”
It urged residents to stay vigilant and monitor official sources throughout today and the weekend to receive the most up-to-date information about the tropical depression.
Speaking with the Cayman Compass early on Friday, Cayman Islands National Weather Service forecaster Allan Ebanks said that, as of 5am, the storm was some 802 miles east-southeast of the Cayman Islands, with winds of 35 miles per hour, four miles shy of tropical storm force winds.
Ebanks noted that the system was travelling at 13 mph along a west-northwesterly path.
“The depression is expected to approach Jamaica and the Cayman Islands as an intensifying tropical storm,” warned the NHC in its Friday morning bulletin.
“Watches and warnings for these locations may be required in subsequent forecast cycles.”
By Monday morning, forecasters have predicted the system will travel directly over all three islands, before moving towards Cuba and Florida.
For a full list of storm shelters and preparedness advice, click here.
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