Weather expert reminds public of November storms
(CNS): Cayman Islands National Weather Service Director General John Tibbetts is reminding the public that hurricane season is not over yet, and although there are currently no signs of any tropical cyclones in the Atlantic, storms are not uncommon in November. Posting on social media, Tibbetts pointed to data collected by scientists at the National Hurricane Center that have helped them to plot historical storms during this month, going all the way back to 1851. While the Cayman Islands has come through the season unscathed so far, the map serves to remind people that November can still churn up a serious storm.
The last serious impact from a hurricane in the Cayman Islands also happened to be in November ten years ago. Hurricane Paloma hit Cayman Brac and Little Cayman on 8 November 2008 as a major hurricane, packing winds of 140mph and causing extensive damage across both islands.
On 3 November 2001 Hurricane Michelle passed 130 miles west of Grand Cayman but wave action caused extensive damage to the Cayman Islands Turtle Farm, as it was called then.
Category: Science & Nature, Weather
Growing up, many of us learned the valuable fable of “the boy who cried wolf”. Let’s not flail our arms and get everyone’s panties in a twist over a theoretical possibility not currently reflected in any forecast or supercomputer simulation for the next couple weeks. Thanks.
Remember Hurricane Allen in 1980? Radio Cayman reported it would hit the Brac ‘in a few hours’, when it had already crossed Spot Bay and gone away.
Weather Observer Please note that the local national weather service did not start until the mid 1980’s
There are many folks who may be elderly , not owning a smart phone or be computer literate , such as many of us are lucky to be . They would be the people that rely on the local weather authority to broadcast general weather information, as other than the radio or television , that is their only source of weather related news.
I doubt very much they are limited as you say. They would still have access to this information by word of mouth that comes from reliable sources. The weather forecasters here simply repeat what is already established by a resourceful and far superior agency.
Yeh, like a Cat 2, 3, 4 or maybe a 5 just might materialize right in our path at this time of year. ZZZZZZZ. What, is this a plug for local hardware and grocery stores to offload their past their sell by date items and scare tactics to purchase such supplies?
CNS: The ’32 Storm and Hurricane Paloma in 2008 both hit the Sister Island on 8th November, both as category 4 storms. Dismissing the possibility of a November hurricane is foolish and dangerous.
There is nothing between here and Africa, so what’s the alarm about?
Late season storms have a tendancy to make up south of us and pass through Cayman about 48hrs after forming. (Your timing may vary.) That the ‘African’ hurricane season is over doesn’t mean that Cayman is statistically safe from hurricanes (see Paloma et al). Which means that the responsible thing to do is not let people relax too much. It shouldn’t help the stores since you either should have your supplies already or you’re always getting them in a bit at a time so this ‘warning’ won’t phase you. But if it means that people don’t relax, eat out their corned beef, and then get surprised by a late season hurricane then the warning will have done its job.
Of course, as I wright this, its raining heavily outside. (Cooling the sea/atmosphere.) Which some could take as an indication of the hurricane season being unofficially over. 🙂
CNS. The storm of November 8th 1932 has been recategorized NOAA as a category 5 storm based on historical data.
It now has the distinction of being the only category 5 hurricane ever recorded in the month of November.
Having said that, hurricane strikes on Cayman in the month of November are still statistically rear and sometimes I too wonder if 12:39 may not be on to something the way a little rainy weather is sometimes hyped, if it happens during the hurricane season.
We really should sometimes celebrate the fact that we had No major hurricanes in Cayman in the past 14 years and the weather has generally been fantastic.
Anon 847 what about Paloma in 2009?
Note that when it hit Cayman Brac it was a category IV not a Category V. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1932_Cuba_hurricane
Very important to listen to the climate explainers.
yawn… i ain’t afraid of wind and rain……
just bring it!.
Thanks, but I will get my information from the NHC in Miami, just like everyone else including the CI Government!
That is unnecessarily rude and dismissive of our local weather professionals who provide an invaluable service to the community.
I beg to differ, they just relay information that is freely available, but present it as their own.
Boo hoo. The poster is right
They repeat NHC information to the public of Cayman, only they do it 6 hours after the NHC provide the same information to the public of Cayman.
They suck up a big paycheck for doing nothing like most in the CIG.
anon 325 You can say that because you really know next to nothing about what the weather service does.
what are their qualifications?
All have bachelors degrees in meteorology. We have to or we would not be able to produce aviation forecast for the cayman islands.
You can get aviation forecasts freely on aviation websites provided by professional agencies with powerful satellite imagery and data and aorher resources you do not have. Don’t kid yourselves.
anon 0708 you really know nothing. the only organization that can legally put out an aviation for the cayman islands is the local national weather service. Any other organization the international aviation organization would decline it and not recognise it.
Do we ever stop and think about all of the reasons why one would disagree and thumb the comment down ?
No