- Updates from the Islands -

- - St.Croix (USVI) - -

- Enjoy the Day!

From: MelissaE Keyes <melissae.keyes at yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 2 Jul 2009 05:08:03 -0700 (PDT)

Hi!

I wonder what happened to our tropical wave?? It should be raining today or tonight, but there's no water on the Satellite picture.

But that new sandblast is on it's way. I'm beginning to wonder if we're going to have dust storms instead of hurricanes? You can see it rolling across the Atlantic, grey color, in this animation:

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/east/catl/loop-avn.html

And here's the next installment of the SAL, Saharan Air Layer. Ugh. lol.
....

.OK!! enjoy the day! Other than trying to figure how to offset the approaching dust, it's a beautiful day today! Enjoy everything you can, and have fun.

Melissa

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Melissa E. Keyes
St. Croix,
U.S.Virgin Islands
http://coralreefpainter.blogspot.com/

- Clear skies

From: melissae.keyes at yahoo.com
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2009 05:44:45 -0700 (PDT)

Hello,

Such a pretty sunrise this morning, a few high wispy clouds turning from gray to red to pink. Pretty blue sky.

I feel so sorry for the people and creatures in the Azores! They're in a blast of Sahara dust so thick that it's pink on the satellite map.. We've had only light orange so far, and the weather people were all excited about that. They must be new.

Hrmmph, said the Old One, I remember a dust event here that was so bad you could see sunrays through the trees. That was in 2005, I believe.

There seems to be a Tropical Wave just in front/south of this new dust monster, I'm curious to see if it leads the dust across the Atlantic.

OK, enjoy your day, and have fun when you can.

Melissa

.......

....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Melissa E. Keyes
St. Croix,
U.S.Virgin Islands
http://coralreefpainter.blogspot.com/

- The Weatherman

From: "Isabel Cerni" <hicerni at viaccess.net>
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:10:02 -0400

I love the weatherman who says it is going to be dry and then we get this wonderful, refreshing, soothing rain-on-the-roof kind of rain; and sometimes a good, downright, heavy shower as well. But can the Weatherman be blamed for not knowing the tricks of Mother Nature.? She does what she wills. It seems that she especially makes it rain when he says it will not. And how about the "chance of rain" percentage. It can be 100% whiteout rain, but it's only 30% in his book. Poor man, where does he put himself when he promises everyone on Friday evening that it is going to be a great, rain free, weekend and the opposite happens? I like rain, like the kind we got today, so I don't mind. It was soothing, like a comforting kiss on the cheek. Pelting rain is more passionate, we have to wait for a real big Cahona for that kind of rain. Right now, folks, you who are planning to visit beautiful St. Croix, just enjoy each day no matter what the weather forecast. Have you ever swam in the sea in the rain.? It's as if diamonds are falling from the sky! I've seen people run out of the water to take cover under a tree! Too bad... Anyway, at the moment, all the Flamboyant trees are blooming, the sea is warm, and there are no hurricanes in the wings! God bless the Weatherman and us!

Isabel

- Greetings from the Sahara Desert!

From: "Isabel Cerni" <hicerni at viaccess.net>
Date: Sun, 28 Jun 2009 23:30:10 -0400

Hi, folks! It's almost the end of Sunday, and hopefully the end of the dust that covered us the last few days. It was the biggest and most intense one perhaps of all time, though I kind of doubt it. I think everything has been around before. They are called "cycles". Anyway, it was comical, that just when the dust was making visibility less and less, and medical alarms went out to everyone especially those who suffered from allergies, asthma, and other bronchial problems to stay indoors, --well, that was when I decided I wanted to sleep on the porch, in the hammock. Believe it or not, I fell asleep, something I was having trouble doing inside, in bed. Was there something in the air perhaps..? Ha! Whatever it was, it helped me to sleep!

I felt sorry for a friend who is being treated for brain cancer and was going to travel to his doctor on the mainland for a checkup, when he encountered a cancelation of the flight due to the thick dust, he said.

It seems as if the "wanna be ana" has disintegrated, judging from the satellite imagery. There's hardly anything left of it, unless the remnants are going to make a comeback. Right now, I am more concerned about a big wave that's all fired up and ready to leave the coast of Africa. It is higher, around our level, as if it's aiming this way. What can I tell you, but be prepared! Let's remain alert and don't allow surprises. This is after all, the hurricane season, where anything can happen, especially a hurricane. But like we are told time and again, "it does not have to be a hurricane to kill you"! God bless us all!

Isabel

- Icky Air

From: MelissaE Keyes <melissae.keyes at yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 28 Jun 2009 06:26:37 -0700 (PDT)

Hi,

I'll be glad once this dust is past. Air is thick and sticky, making everyone grouchy. The newspaper said, "don't breathe and don't touch anything" basically, anyway. Also that I should disconnect the downspouts off my roof that lead rain into the cistern. Hmm, not an easy task. They should have a valve or something.

OK, Happy Sunday to you. Stay inside and don't breathe! haha

Melissa

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Melissa E. Keyes
St. Croix,
U.S.Virgin Islands
http://coralreefpainter.blogspot.com/

- The Big Cahona...?

From: "Isabel Cerni" <hicerni at viaccess.net>
Date: Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:54:46 -0400

Hey! What could that possibly be! A Cahona....a big one, is leaving Africa, so I heard.

Destination..? Where else! We'll deal with that in a few minutes. Seriously, our lazy, hazy, days of Summer have HIT! Hot and sticky, but on a day like today at Cane Bay with all the kids from the Big Island Adventure Summer Camp, riding horses in the beautiful blue sea, it was real cool! We picnicked in the shade of the sea grape trees and as we did, noticed the haze creeping in...What a spectacular, mysterious, view towards the rolling mountains of the Big Island, St. Croix. Moments like this, come and go, they only happen once, just like no two days are alike, no matter how routinely we may do things each day...But, back to the cahona. I checked with Mr.Webster and the closest I got was "cahoots". I turned to the Spanish dictionary. I should've known! A "cachon" (accent on the o ) is a breaker (wave)! Very interesting..I checked the satellite imagery and I must say there's a bunch of cahonas coming, but the one referred to is perhaps the one that currently looks like a three-eyed monster. Imagine a storm with three eyes! Rather not! Let's try to have a good night and know that many a cahona has fizzled! God bless us all!

Isabel

- Punching Match

From: MelissaE Keyes <melissae.keyes at yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:49:59 -0700 (PDT)

Hello,

Below is a link to an animation of the Saharan dust rolling off Africa, and in the last two frames, 'our' Tropical Wrong Way Wave seeming to punch a hole in the dry dusty air.

Hmm, just an observation.

Absolutely gorgeous day at the beach today, for a busload of children to enjoy. Nice to see.

I wandered by for a dive, the sea is pleasantly warm. And the teenie tiny 'jiggling specks' as I call them are back. They are so numerous that they turn the water a whitish color. And where they're dense, there's just no way to take a photo of a coral or a sponge. Like Carl said, Billions and billions! I believe they're copepods, just tiny jiggling critters.

My wishes for pleasant weather for everyone. It's HOT in the States, over 100 many places. Poor them!

Cheers,

Melissa

Here's that Sahara dust link:

http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic/real-time/wavetrak/movies/m8split/m8splitjava5.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Melissa E. Keyes
St. Croix,
U.S.Virgin Islands
http://coralreefpainter.blogspot.com/

- Caught in the middle..?

From: "Isabel Cerni" <hicerni at viaccess.net>
Date: Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:38:56 -0400

Hi, folks! I guess we'll find out soon enough if those two weather systems, on either side of us, mean business. It all looks very dramatic in the satellite imagery, but will it amount to much. We can use some more rain; keeps the plants smiling. We're finally having a new bunch of bananas after the long drought. The afternoons are very, very hot; it's a perfect time for "siesta". I understand, from the weather channel, that we should be in the 90's by Wednesday. I guess our friends in Georgia are sending the heat in our direction. Their swimming pool is a warm 87 degrees after several days of temps in the 90's with a heat index over 100. A woman commented today that this is only June and already it is so hot. She's right. This kind of hot weather is often felt more after July. But why should the weather be normal when the whole world has gone insane? The climate is simply playing along. The bottom line is, when we get our act together, so will the climate. God bless us all!

Isabel

- Backwards!

From: MelissaE Keyes <melissae.keyes at yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:52:38 -0700 (PDT)

The wave is being pushed off toward the north EAST. Sheesh. Dyslexia strikes deep! But it's still being bulldozed off in the wrong way, as this 'stuff' is still coming our way from up north.

Weird weather.

I'm not looking forward to the Sahara dust that'll be getting here in a few days. But a trade-off, maybe weak or no hurricanes. None?

Whatever. Have fun when you can. We plan out work but don't plan our play.

Melissa

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Melissa E. Keyes
St. Croix,
U.S.Virgin Islands
http://coralreefpainter.blogspot.com/

- Hello!

From: MelissaE Keyes <melissae.keyes at yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:41:19 -0700 (PDT)

A confused wave 'trying' to get here, but being pushed to the northwest, by a trough?. A winter-looking front coming at us from the Bahamas from Georgia and places north, the bottom edges of what looks like lows connecting. Very close to each other, anyway, up in the Atlantic off the USA.

And, half the Atlantic is covered by a huge saharan dust layer, see:

http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic2/real-time/salmain.php?&prod=splitEW&time

The rain they got must have dried out quickly.

No predictions from me, just thanks for several days of gorgeous sunny and partly cloudy weather.

Cheerio,

Melissa

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Melissa E. Keyes
St. Croix,
U.S.Virgin Islands
http://coralreefpainter.blogspot.com/

- The Rainbow --a permanent promise!

From: "Isabel Cerni" <hicerni at viaccess.net>
Date: Sun, 21 Jun 2009 23:36:17 -0400

Hope all Fathers had a very happy day today. This morning, very early, after a huge downpour, this rainbow appeared in the sky. It looked better than in the picture. It reminded me of the event in Sacred Scriptures that took place thousands of years ago, when it rained for forty days and forty nights. Imagine that! The entire earth was cover with water. Think about it, way pass the highest peak! Everything and everyone on the earth was destroyed except for the few people and the animals in the ark. It was to be the Mother of all floods. The Almighty saw fit to do this, and He also saw fit to never again destroy the earth with water, so, he placed a bow in the sky as a covenant, a promise, that he would never again destroy the whole earth with water. Granted, there will always be floods, but only some areas...

As we move along and out of the month of June, activity is sure to increase before we know it. If we live in flood-prone areas, you need to be ready since "yesterday". We hear it all the time, "it takes only a few inches of rushing water to drag a person away".. But since it only happens to others, we don't heed the warnings. In a way, water is more dangerous than wind.

We know what we have to do. So, I wish you all, the best of preparations for this hurricane season. And let's thank God every time we see the rainbow in the sky.

Isabel

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- As Expected

From: "Isabel Cerni" <hicerni at viaccess.net>
Date: Fri, 19 Jun 2009 23:22:14 -0400

Hi, Folks!

as expected, the weather is being as charming as possible, some hit and miss showers, or "spotty" showers, as the weatherman likes to call them. They are keeping everything green and everyone happy since it is possible to do outdoor stuff in between the raindrops.

On Saturday it will be raining teardrops as the very popular 2009 Carnival Queen of St. Thomas, Karense da Costa, will be celebrated at her funeral service. She got killed in a car crash two hours after her graduation from high school. The last thing she sang, and she had a great voice, was the AVE MARIA. She was just 18 years old. Please, please, everyone wear your seatbelts and do not speed, it gets you no where! Enjoy life to it's fullest by following the road signs.

A Hurricane Preparedness Expo was held in St. Croix today. Lots of information was available. If anyone is caught unprepared, it's their own fault, we have enough time to get things ready for whatever comes. Judging from the weather on the mainland, we might fare better than they are doing, however, there could have been a miscalculation regarding our season. Let's just be ready. God bless us all, especially all the men who will be celebrated on Father's Day this Sunday. Have a great one!

Isabel

- The Blob

From: MelissaE Keyes <melissae.keyes at yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:57:46 -0700 (PDT)

Hi, everyone,

Well, The Blob which has no circulation seems the be curving northward, toward Haiti. Poor Haiti! Unsolvable problems, and here might come more flooding.

I've had a few showers today, enough to keep the roof wet, anyway. I saw two or three fireflies just now, magical creatures. No breeze to speak of.

All for now, take care,

Melissa

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Melissa E. Keyes
St. Croix,
U.S.Virgin Islands
http://coralreefpainter.blogspot.com/

- Something for my morning coffee tomorrow

From: MelissaE Keyes <melissae.keyes at yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:47:52 -0700 (PDT)

I'm up late tonight, nearly ten. Checking the Caribbean animation, a 'blob' has built up, south of and between Jamaica and Haiti, and it seems to be headed east. The wrong way.

Ho hum. I believe the sea is still not warm enough for a bad storm, but "Hey, what do I know?"

There's no circulation with this system.

OK, later, gaters,

Melissa

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Melissa E. Keyes
St. Croix,
U.S.Virgin Islands
http://coralreefpainter.blogspot.com/

- Backyard Activity?

From: "Isabel Cerni" <hicerni at viaccess.net>
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:20:56 -0400

Sometimes we look beyond to see if anything's coming and we miss what's going on in our very backyards. It's too early to focus on the beyond eastward. Let's take a look at the satellite imagery at what's happening in the western and central Caribbean Sea. There's a lively carnival of colors. These colors usually mean something and may not necessarily mean anything at this time. We have no need to be alarmed, but for those of us on the lookout for the sake of being prepared and for alerting others in harms way, it is important to check out the whole region.

The Caribbean Sea and the Gulf are usually of most concern at this time. I surely hope we don't have to deal with anything now or in the future, but we cannot afford to take a "ho-hum" attitude, that was one reason why OMAR was able to surprise so many, especially boaters. When a storm lashes us from the Northeast the way OMAR whipped around it can cause serious damage, and it did. Christiansted Harbor is no safe harbor for boats, but OMAR made a surprise appearance. He was stationary for so long that HE was taken for granted and I would say, forgotten, but not by all. There are those who have a certain respect for these storms and monitor them an inch at a time.

One of our shutters did not close properly and it was ripped off by the wind at the height of the hurricane. I saw waves crashing over the pier in the bay, a drifting sailboat being pushed around and about. It had gotten loose from its mooring. The next day we saw the remains of boats that had been smashed against the boardwalk and along the wharf. The sea came in to the bandstand, which is well into the park; pieces of boats and debris scattered everywhere. OMAR did a great job at destroying and sinking many a boat. The Steeple Building was repaired and the clock was going to begin chiming again, but OMAR took care of that too. OMAR was a second peak of the season hurricane which formed in October in our backyard. So, here we are. Are we ready? God bless us all.

Isabel

- Backyard Activity?

From: "Isabel Cerni" <hicerni at viaccess.net>
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:14:48 -0400

Sometimes we look beyond to see if anything's coming and we miss what's going on in our very backyards. It's too early to focus on the beyond eastward. Let's take a look at the satellite imagery at what's happening in the western and central Caribbean Sea. There's a lively carnival of colors, and these colors usually mean something. We have no need to be alarmed, but for those of us on the lookout for the sake of being prepared and for alerting others in harms way, it is important to check out the whole region.

The Caribbean Sea and the Gulf are usually of most concern at this time. I surely hope we don't have to deal with anything now or in the future, but we cannot afford to take a ho-hum attitude, that was one reason why OMAR was able to surprise so many, especially boaters. When a storm lashes us from the Northeast the way OMAR whipped around, Christiansted Harbor is no safe harbor for boats, but OMAR made a surprise appearance. He was stationary for so long that HE was taken for granted and I would say, forgotten, not by all. There are those who have a certain respect for these storms and monitor them an inch at a time.

One of our shutters did not close properly and it was ripped off by the wind at the height of the hurricane. I saw waves crashing over the pier in the bay, a drifting sailboat being pushed around and about. It had gotten loose from its mooring. The next day we saw the remains of boats that had been smashed against the boardwalk and along the wharf. The sea came in to the bandstand, which is well into the park; pieces of boats and debris scattered everywhere. OMAR did a great job at destroying and sinking many a boat. The steeple building was repaired and the clock was going to begin chiming again, but OMAR took care of that too. OMAR was a second peak of the season hurricane which formed in October in our backyard. So, here we are. Are we ready? God bless us all.

Isabel

- Warm and sticky

From: MelissaE Keyes <melissae.keyes at yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:14:53 -0700 (PDT)

Hi,

If I didn't like warm weather, I'd move. Others are commenting on the haze, I'll chip in, it seems hazy lately.

I've been watching the animations as usual, and for more than a month now they've been different. The ITCZ is still awfully far south, as are the tropical waves. And there's cool water off the African coast according to the sea surface temperature charts.

If we get a storm this year, it just might be late in the Season.

Cheers,

Melissa

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Melissa E. Keyes
St. Croix,
U.S.Virgin Islands
http://coralreefpainter.blogspot.com/

- A Restless Night...

From: "Isabel Cerni" <hicerni at viaccess.net>
Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2009 22:41:52 -0400

Yesterday's Baby Blue sky was followed by colicky weather: rain, the rumblings of thunder, and constant flashes of lightning during the night. So, I was awake with the weather as if it had been a baby with colick! It was not a restful night to say the least. Today, it continued quite unstable. I met a honeymoon couple this morning and I apologised for the weather, but we need the rain for our cisterns and plants. They did not seem to mind the weather. Why should they? They were on their honeymoon. I remember when we were stranded on Robinson Crusoe Island, almost like the story by Daniel Defoe. Even the honeymooners were anxious to get off that rock. We had had enough giant lobsters to last us a lifetime, had risked our lives in more ways than one, and now the huge waves around the Arquipelago of Juan Fernandez off the Chilean coast made it impossible to leave. We eventually did, but it's a long story, so we'll leave it at that. The night is quiet so far. Chances are, I am actually going to sleep this night. May God bless us all.

Isabel

- Baby Blue Skies

From: "Isabel Cerni" <hicerni at viaccess.net>
Date: Sun, 7 Jun 2009 21:27:34 -0400

Charming weather. A few rain threats to keep us on our toes closing and opening things, otherwise, we had a very nice day for the Womens Race, an annual race which alternates between Christiansted and Fredriksted. I followed it from a distance, on the hill where I live. I like quiet. Solitude. That is not easy to come by, but today I could bask in it for a few hours and that's when I realised that the sky was a beautiful baby blue with very thin whispy white, hardly visible, clouds, like a baby's hair. I sat in the garden and though I like being alone, I wished I could share the moment. The best thing's in life are really free. God bless you and your loves ones, and friends.

Isabel

- It's All in a NAME...

From: "Isabel Cerni" <hicerni at viaccess.net>
Date: Fri, 5 Jun 2009 21:26:49 -0400

According to predictions we should not make it past KATE this season. That would be really great, 'cause our friend LARRY would be relieved if he does not have to see his name making headlines. As for A to Kate, we just have to deal with them as they come. One of them is sure to be nasty; five major hurricanes are predicted for a season that is to be below average.

In St. Croix, Christiansted and beyond, we are enjoying some real RAIN! It's not a 24-hr type of rain or anything like that, but it lasts long enough to replenish the cisterns and brighten the green landscape. We were told today that we have to look towards the western Caribbean for development before anything forms to the east. That's a normal pattern. It's West, then East, then West again. I don't think that LENNY came the wrong way; storms usually form in the West later in the season I've noticed. As a matter of fact, they can form anywhere; it all depends on what's going on with the jet stream and a series of weather patterns that come together and "plot".

The weather is a fascinating thing to study. I was floating on the sea recenly looking at the sky and the movement of the clouds, how quickly they came and went; it was breezy below, must have been windy above. Fascinating...

Enjoy life! God bless you, and me, and our loved ones!

Isabel

- The Weak "Boy Child"

From: "Isabel Cerni" <hicerni at viaccess.net>
Date: Wed, 3 Jun 2009 19:55:40 -0400

The weather experts are crediting a weak "El Niño" for a below average Hurricane Season this year. In that case "Bravo!" "Niño" means boy. "Niña" means girl. "El Niño" means "the boy" and "La Niña" means "the girl". "Los niños" means "the children". "Las niñas" means "the girls". So, right now they are banking on El Niño, albeit, a weak one, to make the difference between a very active season and a not so active one. But remember, it only takes one storm. It may sound terrible, but we are counting on a weak boy child. However, that child likes pop-up books like most children, so now, with reason there is a concern about "pop-up" storms!

Currently, in Christiansted and most likely the entire island, we are finally having some much needed rain. The Flamboyant trees have never taken this long to bloom. They are bored. Lots of "buttons", no blooms! Phooey! Hopefully, after this heavy rain with more to come, we will see a difference. We have seven Flamboyant trees in our lower garden. They are also known as the Red Flame Tree, the Royal Poinciana, Flame of the Forest, and other names throughout the Caribbean. What a gorgeous sight when these large, "spread-out" trees are blooming, and they do, for two to three months!

Let's enjoy today; that's all we have, afterall. Tomorrow never comes. Ever heard of "Free Beer tomorrow"..? As for yesterday - let's learn from any mistakes we made, try not to repeat them, and move on. God bless us all!

Isabelle

(that's French for "Isabel" which is Spanish, and "Elizabeth" which is English, so there! Oops! I was forgetting, I'm also called "Isabella" which is Italian, so they say....)

- Rain

From: MelissaE Keyes <melissae.keyes at yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 3 Jun 2009 13:29:03 -0700 (PDT)

Hello,

Some bits of sun today, several heavy downpours. My little straight-sided pan has collected about an inch and a half since last night.

Cheers,

Melisa
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Melissa E. Keyes
St. Croix,
U.S.Virgin Islands
http://coralreefpainter.blogspot.com/

- Ho Hum

From: MelissaE Keyes <melissae.keyes at yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 2 Jun 2009 17:54:34 -0700 (PDT)

Hello,

The weather folks seem to be disturbed about the first TS that formed last week way up by North Carolina, or thereabouts. They're discussing 'pop up' storms in the wrong places now. Pop Up meaning from a rainy bit to a nasty storm in one day.

We get those here on St Croix, from a tropical wave to a hurricane, in a few hours, right on top of our poor little heads. I remember Jean, in particular, and there was another one, that I sailed through, between St. John and here, a big mess.

And now my friend Sara, who was running weathercarib.com has given up. Boo, she had such a great lot of information, but no money coming in. Last time I saw her she was rather ragged looking. Tortola can be an unfriendly place, despite their 'little secrets'.

Hang on, Sara, or leave, my best wishes to you.

Marvelous sunset tonight! PR must be getting some rain, from those red red clouds.

Ah, yes, time to prepare, as usual. The price we pay for paradise.

Cheers,

Melissa

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Melissa E. Keyes
St. Croix,
U.S.Virgin Islands
http://coralreefpainter.blogspot.com/

- June First

From: MelissaE Keyes <melissae.keyes at yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 1 Jun 2009 07:41:15 -0700 (PDT)

Here we are again!

I think I got a photo of the trough that's over us at sunrise this morning. The high pink cloud that looks like a, ???, Ditch?

Little breeze but a nice hard shower just now, here on the North Shore, just east of Cane Bay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Melissa E. Keyes
St. Croix,
U.S.Virgin Islands
http://coralreefpainter.blogspot.com/

Attachment: sunrise trough.jpg
Description: JPEG image

- The Naked Truth

From: "Isabel Cerni" <hicerni at viaccess.net>
Date: Sun, 31 May 2009 22:20:59 -0400

It's been hot, it's been very humid, and it's day one of the hurricane season 2009!

Dear friends in the Caribbean and of Stormcarib worldwide,

The good news is that this is going to be a "quiet" hurricane season. The bad news is that it only takes one to wreak havoc. So, if there's only going to be one real hurricane this year, where will it hit?

In 1928 St. Croix was flattened by a major hurricane. Then, sixty years passed with near misses left and right, until HUGO in 1989. Horrible HUGO leveled 95% of the buildings, caused destruction that accumulated tons of debris, fifteen tornados toyed with the island during the hurricane, no wonder; winds of 245mph broke the recording gauge at the airport, months without power, but thankfully, no one was killed by HUGO.

Regardless, if this is being pre-announced as a quiet season, we must prepare as if the one that could hit land will be ours. We cannot afford to let our guard down. Hurricanes are very tricky. Last year Hurricane OMAR played quite a game. It was stationary to the south west in the Caribbean Sea for some time, then it began moving ever so slowly, first this way, then that, finally choosing charming St. Croix as it's primary target. It was a quick 135mph punch and it was gone! Poof! It was suddenly quiet. We have yet to replace the shutter it ripped off due to an oversight that the shutter was not properly secured. There are so many things to do before a hurricane, that's why it is best to start early checking everything out, storing non-perishable food, etc..

I wish everyone in the Caribbean the very best for a safe hurricane season. May this truly be a quiet season; and if any should form in the vicinity, let's pray and hope that it goes out to sea.

God bless us all!

Isabel

- Muggy!

From: MelissaE Keyes <melissae.keyes at yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 23 May 2009 06:23:24 -0700 (PDT)

Hello!

Little breeze, overcast; sticky, warm morning. I'm watching rain showers on SJU radar go past, toward the East, still the wrong way.

Good day to transplant or try to root cuttings, dark of the moon in Taurus.

Cheerio,

Melissa

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Melissa E. Keyes
St. Croix,
U.S.Virgin Islands
http://coralreefpainter.blogspot.com/

- Wrong Way Weather

From: MelissaE Keyes <melissae.keyes at yahoo.com>
Date: Fri, 22 May 2009 11:10:27 -0700 (PDT)

Hello,

A somewhat hot and stuffy morning, even outside. Very light breeze right now, from the south, bringing some volcanic dust, making some bluish haze. Some sun, some cloud.

The blob of clouds that started in the southern Bahamas has wandered south of Hispanola, and seems to be slowly coming this way. The associated low, a few days ago, has gone on into the Gulf of Mexico.

I miss the old days of weather coming only from the east.

Cheerio,

Melissa

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Melissa E. Keyes
St. Croix,
U.S.Virgin Islands
http://coralreefpainter.blogspot.com/

- Hhhhhhhhuuuuuuuuumid!

From: Heygirllll at aol.com
Date: Thu, 21 May 2009 14:51:53 EDT

HOLY COW ... I may never leave the comfort of my air conditioned computer room ... til winter!

Earlier I was outside picking tomatoes and zucchini from the garden ... not a job that normally makes me sweat so profusely. It's been quite humid for a couple of days now, not complaining, it's part of life in paradise.

Yesterday we closed the bedroom windows and fired up the portable a/c in there. Ahhhhhhh ... nice and coooooooooool. I missed the sound of the crickets and frogs singing during my wonderful night of slumber ... but I sure did sleep good last night. As I was drifting off I heard gigantic raindrops landing on the roof, music to my ears. Must've been a very short burst of rain, nothing registered on the rain gauge. I may need to climb on the roof and make sure things are still connected to the weather station. We thought it was broken ... but just needed some new batteries. Perhaps while I'm up there I'll see Melissa on her roof!

Current temp, according to my weather station, is 86.2 (85.5 with the wind chill

Enjoy!

~Jill~

Click here: Jill's Life In Paradise

Huge savings on HDTVs from Dell.com!

- Funny Weather

From: MelissaE Keyes <melissae.keyes at yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 21 May 2009 05:41:51 -0700 (PDT)

Hello,

Yesterday, Wednesday, I went onto my roof to check and repair, and the sky was dark and ominous. While I was up there, an hour or so, the sky grew ever darker and somewhat frightening.

I became nervous that there might be a surprise thunderstorm approaching from the NW, and decided that I deserved a beer at a beach bar to settle my nerves.

By the time I got to the beach, just a few minutes from my home, to the NW, the sky was blue and sunny, with just a few white clouds. So there I sat, contemplating my unfinished roof repairs. "Tomorrow". I don't wish to be beery while up on my roof.

The sea and Atlantic are still not warm enough for 'development'. And the ITCZ, Inter Tropical Convection Zone (I thimmk) a sort of varying place along the equator that moves northward during the summer, is far south. It needs to be much further north, to my understanding, to facilitate storms.

Still there's no time like early to prepare, hey? OK, roof, here I come, again.

Cheers, and have a successful day.

Melissa

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Melissa E. Keyes
St. Croix,
U.S.Virgin Islands
http://coralreefpainter.blogspot.com/

- Fine Pretty Morning

From: MelissaE Keyes <melissae.keyes at yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 19 May 2009 03:58:39 -0700 (PDT)

Hi there!

Some rain lately, but not anything soaking. I planted a baby coconut yesterday on a beach, and the sand below the surface two inches was powder dry.

Guess I'll do a 'cans' run to Cost-U-More. That time of year.

Have fun when you can! None of this "All work" business!

Melissa

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Melissa E. Keyes
St. Croix,
U.S.Virgin Islands
http://coralreefpainter.blogspot.com/