TD9 could be hurricane as it approaches Cayman

| 23/09/2022 | 14 Comments

(CNS): Tropical Depression nine was located at about 515miles east-south-east of Jamaica at 10am local time Friday but forecasters said it will become a tropical storm by tonight followed by “significant intensification” on Sunday and Monday as it approaches the Cayman Islands. Maximum sustained winds are currently near 35mph with higher gusts. But as the system becomes develops into a storm, when it arrives in this area, Cayman is expected to experience hurricane force winds. A Hurricane Alert has been issued as such conditions are expected to impact locally in the next 72hrs.

According to the National Hurricane Centre in Miami the depression was moving toward the west-northwest at almost 14 mph, this morning, with a westward motion expected later today followed by a turn toward the west-northwest and northwest on Sunday and Monday sending it in the direction of the Cayman Islands.

On the forecast track, the center will track across the central Caribbean Sea Saturday, pass south of Jamaica on Saturday night and Sunday, and approach Cayman Sunday night, early Monday when it is likely to have churned into at least a category one hurricane.

Earlier Friday morning the government said the official agencies of the Cayman Islands National Weather Service (CINWS) and Hazard Management Cayman Islands (HMCI) were closely monitoring the system. Premier and Minister of Sustainability & Climate Resiliency Wayne Panton urged people to take early precautions and stay tuned to official sources for updates.

“Please take every effort to ensure your families, homes and businesses are prepared for any severe weather impacts which may come our way over the next few days. Do not wait until the last minute to make sure you have your emergency plan and supplies in place,” he said. “The Cayman Islands Government, through the Weather Service and Hazard Management, will continue to provide timely updates on this developing weather system.”

The National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) has not yet been activated, but HMCI was liaising with a variety of stakeholders to ensure national preparedness for any severe weather impacts, including the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Governor’s Office, Office of the Premier, the Cayman Islands Regiment and Cayman Islands Red Cross. HMCI Director Danielle Coleman said her team is focused on operational readiness.

“HMCI has been busy working to ensure operational readiness of the National Emergency Operations Centre in anticipation of an activation. We have also been focused on ensuring logistical arrangements are in place for provisioning and activating emergency shelters and readying relief items for post-impact distribution,” she said. In the event of a NEOC activation, the Continuity of Operations Support Team will ensure coverage of all critical Government functions.”

Meanwhile, CINWS will begin is 24-hour shift from Saturday 24 September, to take weather observations and carry out balloon releases which will provide data to better analyse the approaching system. CINWS Director General John Tibbetts said his team is paying close attention to what is now TD9 and is monitoring a variety of factors affecting development and movement of the system.

“The CINWS team is using all the tools at our disposal to monitor this developing system and we will continue to provide updates to the Cayman Islands public and issue warnings as needed,” he said. He made no comment on the state of the radar which is understood to still be out of commission.

For more information on how to prepare your home, family and business for a severe weather event, visit www.caymanprepared.ky or follow HMCI on Facebook and Twitter. The public is also encouraged to download the National Emergency Notification System app for live alerts from HMCI in the event of an emergency by visiting: https://nens.gov.ky/ or visit https://www.weather.gov.ky/ or follow CINWS on Facebook.


Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Tags:

Category: Local News

Comments (14)

Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed

  1. Anonymous says:

    Hurricane Ian approaching very similar path as Ivan . Can we please do away with storms begining with the letter I ?

  2. Anonymous says:

    Thanks A LOT pride Cayman!

    11
    7
  3. Anonymous says:

    clean up your junk on your yard ya pigs!

    15
    2
  4. Anonymous says:

    When I was young we still had hurricanes, but I do not recall the panic we have today. The media likes to hype it up and get people going on the road to panic buy everything in sight. We have lived with hurricanes for centuries and we were always prepared for them. You can’t prevent them causing damage but you can prepare and stay prepared all season long.

    33
    7
    • Beaumont Zodecloun says:

      Agree. Also, when we were young, most structures were built with hurricanes in mind, and were far more resistant against those forces.

      When we were young, we prepared for the inevitable hurricane and didn’t depend upon government to bail us out when our lives were changed.

      14
      5
    • Anonymous says:

      When you were young, what percentage of the population do you think had hurricane experience? It’s safe to say that a large portion of the population have never experienced a hurricane and don’t know what to expect. “The media likes to hype it up” oh shut up.

  5. Anonymous says:

    So by that picture, a giant carrot is going to land on us?

  6. Anonymous says:

    Please don’t listen to ignorant people talking about they don’t ‘feel’ this storm will do anything, remember a lot of people said that when Ivan was approaching. think of your hurricane supplies like money, it’s better to have it and don’t need it than to need it and don’t have it.

    38
    1
    • Beaumont Zodecloun says:

      Well said. ;o)

    • Miami Dave says:

      This will be a real test for all those new buildings built on South Sound since Hurricane Ivan. Developers said there was nothing to fear.

      People were warned and soon it will be test time. I remember the area after Ivan. Take precautions and prepare.

      11
  7. Anonymous says:

    Remember last year Grace was strengthening as it past us, and many people were caught off guard.
    We don’t know the precise path of this one yet, but we do know that the seas around us are very warm and there is very little wind shear in our area. So whatever the storm is by Sunday night, it could potentially strengthen rapidly.
    Everyone should take this seriously… just in case.

    57
    1

Leave a Reply to Anonymous Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.