Cayman braces for heavy rains and flooding

| 23/09/2024 | 16 Comments
Rain soaks Red Bay (file photo)

(CNS): The Cayman Islands is bracing itself for the potential onslaught of a tropical storm over the coming days as a weather system very close to our area is becoming more organised and likely to intensify as it passes between now and Wednesday. It is then expected to become a hurricane as it heads through the Gulf of Mexico. Flooding is the main concern for low-lying areas as heavy rains are expected to begin tonight.

According to Monday morning’s forecast from the Cayman Islands National Weather Service, as the system develops into Tropical Storm Helene over the next few days, there could be as much as nine inches of rain on Grand Cayman and up to seven inches on Cayman Brac and Little Cayman due to frequent and heavy thunderstorms.

Local forecasters are also warning that the current king tides on top of the heavy rain could lead to significant flooding in low-lying areas.

The heavy rain is expected to begin Monday night into Tuesday morning when the bad weather, including strong winds, is likely to be its most intense, though the inclement weather is expected to last into Wednesday. According to weather experts, the main local danger is the potential for rapid intensification as the emerging storm forms and passes across or very close to the Cayman Islands.

On Monday morning the National Hurricane Center also noted that this stormy system, AL97 as it is still known at the moment, was gradually becoming better organised. Environmental conditions appear favourable for further development as the system moves northward across the northwestern Caribbean Sea.

Meanwhile, a tropical wave located between western Africa and the Cabo Verde Islands is producing disorganised shower and thunderstorm activity. Environmental conditions appear generally favourable for the gradual development of this system.

The NHC said that a tropical depression is likely to form during the middle to latter part of this week as it moves westward to west-northwestward across the eastern and central tropical Atlantic. The forecasters said that the chance of storm formation over the next seven days is 70%.

Listen to the local Monday morning forecast by Chief Meteorologist Kerry Powery below:


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Category: Science & Nature, Weather

Comments (16)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Those who have not been affected by the rains these past few days are the lucky ones. However, it is nothing to joke about when you have water thigh-high in your yard/house and the surrounding areas. Luckily, we kept abreast with the weather and did not wait for information to come from our NWS and prepared our property beforehand.

    However, the problem was not just a high tide and the sh88 load of rain that we received that is causing flooding for existing homes. The problem is that current developers are being allowed to build in such a way that puts all previous existing properties at a higher risk of being flooded.

    I don’t know what to do about this problem though. You can give your rejections to Planning but they ignore your plight and approve these new developments regardless of how it affects preexisting homes.

    Therefore, a public call is being for the NRA to continue to monitor, repair, install new drains, and constantly blow out existing and new ones, in the most affected areas, throughout the year but especially before we are faced with these weather systems. If not, the scary thing about the flooding in our low-lying areas is that it will only get worse and thus continue to affect thousands of people here in Grand Cayman.

  2. Anonymous says:

    The Elite Cayman Drivers Corp were fully prepared.

    Textbook stuff from this highly skilled demographic. Fog lights on and doubling glare from wet roads? check. Cars in stealth mode with no lights on at dusk? check. Cars with high beams on, dazzling all oncoming traffic? check.

    Well done, idiots on the road. Keep up the tailgating.

  3. Anon says:

    I went through Gilbert and Ivan. We have had worse weather than today on many occasions since! And what did we do…..just carried on as normal. Overreacting as usual, but the people who decide to shut the island down don’t have to be productive or be efficient. Typical bureaucratic time wasters.

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  4. Anonymous says:

    Oh there’s some drizzle, fo schnizzle.

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  5. Anonymous says:

    You naysayers need to shaddap. I have driven through several puddles today. Almost got my rims wet.

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  6. Anonymous says:

    What happens if we have heavy rains during Kenny’s referendum? Does it get rescheduled and we get another holiday?

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  7. Anonymous says:

    we live in a woke world where the call of the day is to shout ‘health, saftey welfare, children…..’….and the most obvious over-reaction will be called.
    did we not learn anything from the nonsense of covid and the moronic lock downs????

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  8. Anonymous says:

    What a joke! That’s why my official source is and will continue to be the National Hurricane Center in Florida.

    Our bunch are just alarmists and jokers. World class civil service my a$$!

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  9. Anonymous says:

    Anon @ 11:27 am you will know if it’s nonsense by tomorrow morning , hopefully if you are in a low lying are you take the necessary precautions, don’t be fooled by how beautiful it is at the moment

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  10. Alarmist public servants. says:

    This is an overreaction, with economic and mental health consequences.

    A bunch whose salary is assured decide to shut the country down on a sunny day, forcing Children and parents to stay home and not be able to work or study.

    I guess that since Covid we have lost our common sense.

    Do we get a refund from the schools for the tuition paid and no services provided?
    will the government be compensating us for lost income?

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  11. Anonymous says:

    More alarmist nonsense

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    • Anonymous says:

      You should be bracing instead of complaining.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Bracing? We are way outside the cone and it’s not anticipated to even hit Cat 1 status until we’ll past us. You think every time a tropical storm is threatened within 300 miles we should shut down the economy and cower in our houses? Or are you a civil servant just enjoying the extra day off? ?

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    • Anonymous says:

      It’s called advance planning by government departments and HMCI.
      While only a tropical depression is anticipated , they should be commended for advance planning instead of being berated .
      They are thinking of emergency services such as police, ambulance and fire response. These services may be called on for response and by minimizing some government departments being open would allow a better first responder response if needed. Flooding in low lying areas a concern .

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