Nighttime temperatures are forecast to dip down into the 60s from 31 Jan. to 3 Feb., as the fourth cold front of the year approaches the Cayman Islands this weekend.
According to Cayman’s National Weather Service forecast, seas on Sunday,1 Feb. are expected to be “extremely rough” and reach between 9 and 13 feet. A marine warning is in effect for that day.
Winds are expected to be between 24mph and 29mph from late Saturday through Tuesday and have a northwest component from Friday through Monday.
With a long period of swells expected, waves could breach parts of the coastline on the west side of Grand Cayman – from South Church Street in George Town all the way to North West Point Road in West Bay.
While these waves are not expected to result in the sort of damage experienced during the nor’wester in February 2024, which saw 16-foot waves breaching some waterfront properties and damaging vehicles, the waves could still result in road closures near the harbour area of George Town.
The Weather Channel is currently forecasting temperatures will drop to 65 degrees Fahrenheit in the Cayman Islands on 1 Feb. This nighttime low will be the coldest temperature recorded in the Cayman Islands for several years, and while this temperature is likely to result in residents wearing hoodies and extra layers to keep warm, it is still far from the coldest temperature ever recorded in the Cayman Islands – 52 degrees on 11 Feb. 1968.
Waterfront businesses prepare for rough weather
Along the waterfront in George Town some businesses were already preparing for the rough weather. At Divers Down on North Church Street, manager Mark Williams said staff had already removed the planks from the dock to protect it from the approaching storm.
At Eden Rock Dive Centre, the ladder into the water has been removed and tables and chairs were stacked up as far away from the sea as possible, in the parking lot.
“It has been quite a rough January for us,” explained Bruno Rivera, the manager of the Eden Rock dive shop, “Normally this is one of our busiest times of year, but unlike other dive operations which take their customers diving on the south coast during cold fronts, we do not operate dive boats; our divers swim out from the shore and the sea has been quite rough for several days this month.”
He added, “With the current cold front lingering and another nor’wester expected this weekend, it will continue to be too rough for shore diving at Eden Rock and other west side locations for at least another week.”
On Wednesday, 28 Jan. two cruise ships, the Rotterdam and the Resilient Lady, bypassed Grand Cayman because of the rough weather, but the Margaritaville at Sea and the Celebrity Apex were both disembarking passengers from the Spott’s location off the south coast.
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