Well we continued the Drizzle conditions through the day and the mid-afternoon downpour was a reality, quite heavy rains. The night may bring some occasional short bursts of heavy rain showers but the cloudy conditions will disappear more throughout the early morning. Tomorrow we can expect a fairly good day with some sunshine, but due to the saturated land, some convective rain showers may occur in the Central and Western areas of the island.

Hurricane Ida continues her northbound track but I am still betting on a North Easterly trend as it gets over the central portion of the Gulf of Mexico. Persons in Upper Western Florida, the Panhandle, and Alabama Louisiana coastline should watch updates on Ida closely, she has not given up her strengthening yet and will not diminish in the Gulf as forecasted.

Current conditions:

Wind: ESE 5 MPH / Vis 10 NM / Clouds: 800 Few  1800 Scattered  7000 Broken  20000 Overcast / Temp: 75F / Dewpoint: 73F / Humidity: 95% / Barometer 1010 Mb / Rain: Day 1.70 in Month 20.5 in Year 37.5 in (More than half total year rainfall occurred in November)

Have a good evening.

Chris

We can all breathe easier now in the Cayman Islands as Hurricane IDA trundles Northwards – a “Strike” would have been especially ironic and hard given events of last year on Cayman Brac with Paloma.

Remember though – the Hurricane Season is not yet over so still be prepared.

In the meantime, spare a thought for those still in the path of Hurricane IDA be they on land or at sea and, for the crews of the Hurricane Hunter Aircraft who clinically carry out their duties in “testing” and often, “yet to be discovered” conditions.

ALL MESSAGES FROM THIS SENDER HAVE BEEN SUBJECT TO FULL NORTON ANTI-VIRUS PROTOCOLS

Hello Storm Carib Watchers,

Well just as most posted for yesterday we had pretty much a continuous drizzle with bands of rain for short periods. The heaviest of the windy conditions occurred yesterday into the early evening. Drizzle with occasional rain continued throughout the night and into this morning. Extremely heavy downpour occurred around 10:30 and continued on for about an hour or so, but has now stopped and back to a drizzle. As the afternoon moves on we can expect a few more rain showers in bands which will diminish as evening moves in.

Current Conditions:

Wind: SE at 15 MPH Occasional 25 MPH / Vis: 7 NM Drizzle / Clouds 600 Scattered 1500 Broken 5000 Overcast / Temp: 75F / Dewpoint 72F / Humidity: 92% / Barometer: 1010.5 Mb (Falling) / Days Rain: 1.04 in (Highest Rate 6.0 in / Min)

Update later this evening.

Chris

Hello All,

Teal 70...HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT FIND IDA STRONGER...

REPORTS FROM AN AIR FORCE RESERVE AIRCRAFT INDICATE THAT THE MAXIMUM

SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 70 MPH...110 KM/HR...WITH

HIGHER GUSTS.  IDA COULD BECOME A HURRICANE LATER TODAY OR

TONIGHT BUT WEAKENING IS EXPECTED AFTER IDA ENTERS THE GULF OF

MEXICO.

IDA IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH NEAR 9 MPH...15 KM/HR.  A TURN TOWARD

THE NORTH-NORTHWEST WITH A GRADUAL INCREASE IN FORWARD SPEED IS

EXPECTED OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS.  ON THE FORECAST TRACK...IDA

IS EXPECTED TO MOVE OVER OR JUST EAST OF THE NORTHEASTERN PORTION OF

THE YUCATAN PENINSULA ON SUNDAY.  IDA IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE

SOUTHEASTERN GULF OF MEXICO SUNDAY NIGHT.

Current conditions:

Wind: SSE (160) at 15 Gusting 25-30 MPH / Vis: 7 NM Drizzle / Clouds: 800 Scattered 1500 Broken 6000 ft Overcast (Est) / Temp: 74F / Dewpoint: 71F / Humidity: 90% / Barometer 1008 (Falling) / Rain: 1.25 inches (Today)

Update later

Chris

Good morning,

Overcast conditions continue to dominate the skies over the Cayman Islands this morning a continuous moderate drizzle. A few short downfalls of rain were noticed through the night and this morning so far.

Ida has emerged into the open water and has regained Tropical Storm status with winds sustained around 45 MPH. Ida is moving toward the north at 8 MPH. My unofficial forecast is still for Ida to continue generally in a northerly track with a slow movement NNE as it crosses west and abeam Cayman, then over the western tip of Cuba near Pinar Del Rio and into the Gulf of Mexico and continue a NE track into upper western Florida.

Due to the large outflow east of IDA, the Cayman Islands can expect increased rainfall amounts today starting from mid-morning and carrying on throughout the day. Generally continuous drizzle with periods of moderate rain.

Current conditions are:

Wind: ESE 10-15 Occasional Gusts 20 MPH / Vis: 7 NM in Moderate Drizzle / Clouds: 500 ft Scattered, 1400 ft Broken, 5000 ft Overcast / Temp: 75F / Dewpoint: 73F / Humidity: 94% / Barometer: 1009 mb / Rainfall: .5 inch

Hurricane Hunter Teal 70 was dispatched to Ida’s location this morning, so we should have a detailed update on the storms status on the 11 pm update.

Have a good day.

Chris   

Hey HB,

Just letting you know that the Hunters are scheduled for tomorrow “Teal 70 and Teal 71” both for Ida at 0600 and 1600.

Chris

Chris,

I am also closely watching Ida for any “Paloma-esque” turns/hooks – ironic considering the date!

Think that things will get more clear once she emerges into NW Caribbean but still most info/prognoses will be from Satellite passes & Buoy data as I do not think that any HH sorties are planned today or tomorrow as yet.

Will be flying Cal to NYC on 3 or 4 Dec when I get ticker sorted – if u are Capt will send an “hallo” to u.

MB

ALL MESSAGES FROM THIS SENDER HAVE BEEN SUBJECT TO FULL NORTON ANTI-VIRUS PROTOCOLS

Good Morning Storm Carib Fans,

It certainly has been a longtime since I last posted, in fact a whole year has gone by and it seems like yesterday that I was constantly posting during Paloma. It sure seems like the old saying “Time Flies” is more a reality now a days.

Well as I expected earlier this year, the first Caribbean Storm would emerge from the SW corner of our waters. Ida got organized momentarily over the past 48 hours but contended with landfall shortly thereafter near Bluefields and is now a depression again. But needless to say I don’t think she is finished yet, Ida will enter the warm waters off Honduras today as she progresses northward and will start to reorganize and gain strength. As she moves northward toward the Yucatan Peninsula passing just off the coast I expect a more Northeasterly trend which is due to the higher lever flow that is very prominent from the west over central Mexico. That along with the cold flow now finding its way over the U.S. and south will also play a part in as much as steering Ida over the southern tip of Cuba in a NE direction toward Florida. This is just my observation remember and not official, I will even add that we must pay close attention to Ida as depending on the strength of the factors affecting, and also Ida strength, could even cause an easterly track jog as it moves further north. Anyway those in the area should continue to monitor updates on this storm movement regularly.

Further to the East, over Grand Cayman, we are seeing increased cloudy conditions which no doubt is partly associated with Ida. Winds are easterly with an occasional burst from the SE at around 30-35 MPH with light drizzle. Here is the full scope:

Wind: E-SE 30-35 MPH / Visibility: 8 NM Moderate Drizzle / 1000 Ft Broken Cloud Bases / Temp: 75.6F / Dew Point: 69.8F

Humidity: 80% / Heat Index: 76H/74L / Windchill: 75F J / Barometer 1012.5 Mb / Rain: Today: .006 in Annual: 34.09 in

Well that it for now, back to my busy schedule. Oh by the way, I still am a Captain with Cayman Airways but not flying as much recently as I have taken on a higher management position, but as Christmas approaches the flying will get more and more with the busy season. Hope to see some of you on board, and if it is cold up north jump on our Washington, Chicago, or New York flights and have a sunny and warm winter with us down here.

Have a great day and a lovely weekend!

Chris

Simon