Hurricane Central: Sandy Takes Aim At Jamaica

Hurricane Sandy

Just a few days ago all was well in the Caribbean basin but things were about to change! A low pressure system formed on Sunday the 21st, then on Monday the 22nd it became Tropical Depression 18, on Tuesday the 23rd Tropical Storm Sandy was formed and immediately took aim at our island Jamaica. I woke up this morning to see that Sandy grew in strength and has become a Category 1 Hurricane with 80mph maximum sustained wind and now poses an even more serious threat to Jamaica. This is the first direct hit for the island since Hurricane Gilbert in 1988.

I will now chronicle the state of events as the day progresses and Hurricane Sandy makes her way across Jamaica for as long as the power will last. Stay tuned!

It's now 10:48 am in Kingston and all seems quiet apart from the constant rain that has been soaking the island since Monday. I have been seeing reports that the wind has started to pick up in the eastern end of the island.

UPDATE #1
12:13 Conditions are now deteriorating as Sandy now approaches the island. The rain has begun to increase in intensity. There has been report of flooding, storm surges in places like Caribbean Terrace and the temporary bridge at Kintire has been swept away by the raging Hope River.

View of Kingston & St. Andrew from Red Hills taken by Atom In The Skin

Storm surges at Caribbean Terrace Harbour View (Jamaica Observer)

Storm surge at Caribbean Terrace (On The Ground News)

Adventurous citizens running from large waves crashing in at Caribbean Terrace (On The Ground News)

UPDATE #2
12:52 The eastern end of Jamaica seems to be getting the brunt of the hurricane so far. Fallen trees have blocked some roadways and downed power poles have cut off power to many communities in Portland.

Fallen tree blocking a main road in Portland. Photo: Vidal Smith Jr.

UPDATE #3
Here is a video clip I took just after retracting my awning. This is the first of the winds associated with hurricane Sandy so far in Kingston.

UPDATE #4
Jumped on the UPS to share this quick clip of Hurricane Sandy winds here in Kingston Jamaica.

UPDATE #5
Hurricane Sandy has left the island of Jamaica but not without the scars associated with a hurricane. There have been reports of flooding, several trees are down, roads are blocked, several power lines are down leaving approximately 70% of the island without power. The city of Kingston is regaining power in may sections including where I am which go back power at approximately 12:00 midnight. The full impact will not be known until at least later today.

Down light pole in Portland. Photo: Dale Virgo

Fallen tree in an apartment complex. Photo: Stush

UPDATE #5
Photos of the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy taken this morning.

Only sections of the city of Kingston and St. Andrew has power. Photo: Atom In The Skin

Fallen trees blocking sections of Red Hills Rd. Photo: Atom In The Skin

Fallen trees on power & communications lines sections of Red Hills Rd. Photo: Atom In The Skin

Down trees along Red Hills Rd. Photo: Atom In The Skin

Citizens doing cleanup work. Photo: Atom In The Skin

Restoration work in progress along Red Hills Rd. Photo: Atom In The Skin

Fallen trees along Red Hills Rd. Photo: Atom In The Skin

Residents of White Hall Ave cleaning up debris. Photo: Atom In The Skin

A section of the Sandy Gully at Dunrobin Primary that has collapsed. Photo: Atom In The Skin

Read More

Doubtful Tomas

Early projected path of Tomas

Just a few days ago all eyes were on the eastern Caribbean as a young hurricane called Tomas tore through a few of the Leeward Islands and almost completely destroying the entire St. Lucia. According to the the weather  website projected path Tomas had Jamaica lined up like a sniper looking through his aiming lens on his rifle. Jamaica was projected to receive a direct hit from what would be a category 3 hurricane called Tomas!

However as time passed Tomas seemed to loose some of his confidence and was downgraded to a tropical storm, but had the potential of regaining strength to a category 1 hurricane by the time it reached the vicinity of Jamaica. But that was not all, as it seem Tomas changed it's mind about a direct hit and was projected to head north between Haiti and Cuba, but was supposed to skim the eastern end of Jamaica as a strong tropical storm or category 1 hurricane!

Line outside Pure Water store Kingston Jamaica

With this sigh of relief, but still a heightened sense of preparation Jamaicans began to get ready for a similar downpour of rain like with our recent visitor Nicole, but this time with even some storm force winds! On the day before the storm people could be seen shopping for supplies! Even yours truly got caught in a line at the pure Water store getting some purified water even 2 days before the projected date of the storms arrival. Jamaicans were taking no chance with Tomas and got prepared to some extent.

The day of the storm the anticipation filled the air and this was also evident on Twitter as tweets were flying all over about Tomas expected approach. The countdown continued, the anticipation grew, the satellite image showed an ever closer approach... but... wait... Where was the rain? Where was the wind? Where were the outer bands? Where was Tomas? The hours went by, but all I could see was overcast skies, but no rain and no wind! As I checked the storm track I saw Tomas wobbling east of Jamaica, like an insecure, doubtful child! Finally the rain started, it seems it was here... What! It stopped! That was it? As the night went by, it all seemed that Tomas was a figment of the satellites imagery and our imagination. Tomas passed by Jamaica without even a good shower or puff of wind. The only evidence of Tomas we had was the overcast skies, a few short showers and the satellite imagery.

I am not complaining though, I am happy and give thanks that once again Jamaica was spared a disaster. Especially after how Nicole battered us with endless downpours. We braced ourselves, but never go hit. However, it's never a disadvantage to be prepared and those 3 tins of mackerel and corned beef I bought will certainly be eaten in the coming weeks! Jamaica missed another direct hit, yes we were bypassed by doubtful Tomas.

Read More

It's Going to Be a rough Season!

June 01, is marked as the official beginning of the Atlantic Hurricane Season which runs from June 01 to November 30 every year. Last year was a quite uneventful year in the Caribbean basin, but according to the weather forecasters 2010 will be the very opposite! The 2010 Hurricane season is predicted to be an extremely active season, not good news for us in the Caribbean especially Jamaican and Haiti which lies in the direct path of most Atlantic Hurricanes!

The weather forecasters have predicted that there will be 13 names storms, including 7 hurricanes, 3 of which will become hurricanes (Category 3 or higher). They seem to be on the right track so far as the first named storm for the North Pacific 2010 season Agatha, already created havoc in Guatemala  just a few days ago. Judging from that it  seems we in the Atlantic region will be in for a rough ride this year. This will no doubt have devastation effects on the already weakened economy of Jamaica if a hurricane should hit the island. However, the ones who will suffer the most from an active season and from a direct hit will be the disaster torn Haiti, as that would only mean more destruction and massive loss of lives.

Hopefully we will be spared the full brunt of a hurricane this season and get only the well needed rains associated with the excess moisture in the region. This wishful thinking, however, is negated by the ever increasing accuracy of hurricane predictions to date. The names of the hurricanes for the Atlantic Hurricane season are as follows:

• Agatha
• Blas
• Celia
• Darby
• Estelle
• Frank
• Georgette
• Howard
• Isis
• Javier
• Kay
• Lester
• Madeline
• Newton
• Orlene
• Paine
• Roslyn
• Seymour
• Tina
• Virgil
• Winifred
• Xavier
• Yolanda
• Zeke

So prepare yourself for a bumpy ride, familiarize yourself with hurricane preparedness steps and start budgeting for the eventualities. Here are some hurricane tips from the NOAA if you need to start getting yourself prepared: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/disaster_prevention.shtml. Stay safe through this active season my tropical dwelling neighbours.

Read More

Gustav, The Aftermath

Click on image to enlarge

It's a nice bright sunny morning here in Kingston today, well, apart from intermittent showers. Quiet a drastic contrast it is compared to yesterday morning when rain pelted the island and wind lashed violently. From the comfort of my apartment it seemed things were not too bad at all, I only had to contend with a little water trying to infiltrate my apartment under my door. However, I was quite amazed at the destruction then Tropical Storm Gustav wreaked across the island! It was a rather rude awakening when I sat down to watch the news on both TVJ and CVM, as the reported wide scale flooding, landslides, destroyed canals and roadways, damaged and destroyed houses, stranded people and last but not least, loss of lives. If a tropical storm did so much, I don't even want to imagine what would happened if Gustav hit us at Hurricane strength! Hopefully we can recover from this blow quickly, and I guess we can still count our blessings as it could be worse.

Gustav is now a little distance away form our neighbor the Cayman islands and now stronger than ever at Cat 3 with 120 mph winds! It is now on on a track to Cuba as it gains more power from the warm Caribbean Sea. Hopefully our friends in the Cayman islands didn't fare to badly as Gustav hit at about a Cat 2. All eyes are on Gustav still, as it certainly has captured every one's attention since its birth and rapid growth couples with its ever increasing strength. The northern tip of Cuba is next and then it will have it's eyes set on the United States south coast. Even if Cuba weakens this system, it has ample time and fuel to regain its strength and get even stronger when it enters the warm Gulf of Mexico.

I have seen that some of my fellow Jamaican bloggers made it through the storm pretty OK. I am hoping to hear from the rest and also from our Cayman bloggers. I actually went in to work on Friday evening until this morning, wasn't too bad as most things were accounted for by the previous team, but mi want fi sleep yah now! Hope all is well with everyone.

Read More

Gustav "Eyes" Jamaica! Update 1

Well as far as I can guess based on where I am, tropical storm Gustav has not affected us here in Jamaica as Dean did last year. I only experienced short bursts of strong gusty winds starting at about 3:00 pm. This did not last long or seem to have done much damage here in the Kingston metropolitan area. As I type this post outside is basically still, however we have been experiencing constant rain starting from about 5:30 pm. despite the relative calm here in Kingston, there have been reports on the news the eastern and southeastern side of the island has been experiencing strong winds and heavy rains. There have also been houses that have lost their roofs and some have been blown down. Below are some videos I captured on my Stunnercam.

Effects of Gustav on Kingston at approximately 4:00pm

Effects of Gustav on Kingston at approximately 7:30pm

Stay safe everyone who is in the eye of the storm.

Read More

Gustav "Eyes" Jamaica!

"I just saw the latest projected path. I'm no meteorologist but I doubt the fishermen will even have to come ashore." - Gussie, Wed Aug 27, 03:50:00 PM

"Gustav,
A thousand pardons for underestimating you earlier. Please look favourably on our little island and keep the huffing and puffing to a minimum..." - Gussie, Thu Aug 28, 08:21:00 AM


Well, that seems to have been the change in reaction of most Jamaicans to the radical, abrupt and totally unexpected turn tropical storm Gustav made. What seemed to have been a walk in the park with Gustav going north of Jamaica and only delivering some rain to the island has certainly changed! Gustav after been weakened by Haiti from a Cat 1 hurricane to a tropical storm has strengthened to a strong tropical storm and almost at hurricane strength, clocking 70 mph at 10:00am today. It has also changed direction and has lined up Jamaica real good! I seems we will be in for a rough evening and night as Gustav unleash it's fury on Jamaica. It's already cloudy here in Jamaica and there have been a few showers of rain thus far, signaling the definate approach of the impending storm.

I have my water and a couple of tin foods, not a lot though. I haven't battened down the glass piece in my window, but it should be ok though. I am going to get a few candles from my friend shortly , who has a whole box.So I am pretty much prepared for a tropical storm or Cat 1 hurricane. I will be home during this hurricane, and thus at the mercy of the power outages that may be caused by the storm or maybe hurricane. But I will try to post updates periodically during the storm so those outside of the rock can know what's going on. All my Jamaican peeps, stay safe during the storm and the Cayman peeps stay prepared!

Oh just another news flash! There is now another named tropical storm in the Atlantic, called Hanna! I will keep an eye on that too after the passing of Gustav.

Read More

Hurricane Watch!

Once again we are in the active part of the Atlantic Hurricane Season and it certainly is proving to be more active than earlier in the season. Fay skimmed us a few days ago amidst our Olympic fever. However, there is a new threat, Gustav which has strengthen from a tropical depression to a category 1 hurricane in just 2 days. To keep you all up to date with the progression of the hurricane, I have posed below live feeds to track the hurricane. I have included satellite images from two weather websites so you can get updates from more than one source all in one place.

Weather.com

National Weather Serivce

Hopefully this one misses us and doesn't do too much damage to our neighbouring islands.

Read More

Powerless Yet Romantic

Well one week has past and things are slowly getting back to normal...well at least here in Kingston. The few days after hurricane was rough! No light and for some people no water. These couple of days surely made you appreciate how much we are dependent on the comforts of modern civilization, that we often take for granted. I had water even right after the hurricane, but definitely no light.

It took me about two days to get power after the hurricane, and those few nights were hell. I said nights as things were OK in the days, since I was basking in the fluorescent light and air conditioning at work. But When I got home it was a different story, no power, which means no fan, no lighting, no cool drink, no hot water and no meat! Trying to sleep was not easy at all as I had to endure the heat of my apartment which was compounded by an onslaught of some serious hungry belly mosquitoes! These damn mosquitoes attack you even while you are moving, it's as if Dean had cut off their food supplies.

Cooking was definitely no fun. Trying to cook with candle light is not something desirable, as you can hardly see what you are cooking and the candles take up all the space on the counter top. But I did manage to do some cooking one of the evening though. Oh yes I had a nice romantic setting, dinner by candle light! Of course it was by myself, but the candle light did give a nice feeling as I ate my Grace tin mackerel and flour dumplings, with some syrup served at room temperature. What did you expect? Beef sirloin, creamed potatoes and tossed salad with freshly blended fruit juice? It's post hurricane time! Anyway here is a picture of my romantic dinner for one.

So you can just imagine my excitement when I got home form work a few days later to see the light radiating through out the complex and when I got inside my apartment and flicked the switch! It was such a relief to get back my light, oh yes, my bulbs filled the room with fluorescent light, cable was back, the Internet was sitting and waiting and I dashed to plug in the fridge. Things are certainly getting back to normal as time goes by.

Read More

Hurricane Dean Video Clip

Since the approach of Dean Jamaica has been without power and still is in some areas...including mine. I wont be writing much as I have to stay back a little at the office to post this and check up my email. I recorded a few video clips during the hurricane, it's not much...in act they are very crappy... I was working during the hurricane. I have posted them below. The first video has a lot of talking, me and my co-workers. Hope all in the path made it through the hurricane ok.

Read More

Close Shave! (Bye Bye Dean)

The sun is once again shining through the partly cloudy skies here in Kingston, Jamaica and hurricane Dean has passed! We got a pounding by endless rain, lashes by powerful winds but still standing. Thank God Dean changed course and traveled south of the island instead of plowing straight through!

I am not sure of the extent of the damage, as I am still at work and have not ventured out or seen any news updates. But it seems things are not as bad as with Ivan. Now I need to head home after work and examine my place and take a good shower! Yes there is still water in my part of the city, just hope it is clean enough to bathe. This is just a quick post but I hope to post some pics and videos in my next post. I don't have much as I was at work the whole time. Hope all the Cayman posy is hanging in there and will be OK as well as the folks on the Yucatan Peninsula. Thank you all for your best wishes and prayers.

You can still track hurricane Dean on my previous post. I will replace it with a snapshot after Dean dies out.

Read More

Crunch Time (Hurricane Update)

Well, the beautiful weather that Jamaica experienced yesterday has given way to the dark, rainy conditions associated with the outer bands of the hurricane system. Dean has changed course a little and the track is projected south of the island. But this can always change, but we hope it moves even further southwards, thus lessening the impact of the hurricane force winds. I have not seen any strong winds here in Kingston so far and we have not experienced any heavy showers, but things will deteriorate as time goes by. The most we can do now is just pray and hope the system continues to move south of us.

Read More

Worst Nightmare!

Yes folks, even though this morning is a bright sunny beautiful morning, Jamaica's worst nightmare has just been realized! within a few hours Jamaica will begin to feel the first impacts of the Cat 4, or even possible Cat 5 Hurricane Dean. I have not been on the road since this morning, but I can just imagine how bus it must be with the frantic last minute shoppers, buying and preparing fo the horrible tempest ahead.

I have not done much preparation for this hurricane. I think what I have done so far is sufficient. I bought myself some bottled water, tin food, easy to cook non-perishables, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions. I did this from Thursday, yes I know it was early, but I did it to avoid the mad rush the few hours before the hurricane, and also because...

I will be at work! What the hell! Yes I have been forcibly drafted in the hurricane team and will be at work for quiet a long time. During the entire pre-hurricane, hurricane and post-hurricane periods. So I will spend the rest of my day securing the home front, then later it will be off to work. I guess some of us have to make sure vital services like communication remains up during such a critical time. I would rather not be at work and at home to somehow protect my property... or at least feel like I am... somehow!

This hurricane is the strongest to hit Jamaica in such a manner in a long time. I am just hoping that by some miracle Dean decides to dip southwards and spare Jamaica the carnage! I know for a certain that our already limping economy and substandard facilities cannot handle a Cat 4 much more a Cat 5.

You may visit this blog later in the night as I may be able to post a short update on how Dean is affecting the island. I will be busy at work, but I'll try to give a quick updates for as long as the internet connection stay up. To my fellow Bloggers in Jamaica and Cayman, stay safe and those not affected, keep us in your prayers.

Read More

War Path!!!

I was going to give you a review of the Borne Ultimatum, but I think I have more pressing issues to deal with! You must be wondering what I'm taking about. But if you take a look at the picture below then you will know what I'm taking about.


The first real hurricane threat of the season is a reality and is quickly approaching. Hurricane Dean is is projected to be on a direct path to Jamaica. Although the eye is actually projected to pass just south of Jamaica, it's too close for comfort! It seems this weekend is going to be a rough one! Lightning, thunder, torrential rain and the dreaded gale force hurricane winds. The kind of winds that make trees bend and bow before it. Wind that mercilessly toss roofs, violently hurl objects wildly as it howls a deafening ominous cry. But the rain cannot go without mention, rain that pours and pours without end, swells gullies and valleys, devour the plains with no remorse, sweeping away houses, cars and valuables.

However that is still a few days away and thing might change by then. However the small islands of the Eastern Caribbean do not have that luxury, as Hurricane Dean is right at their doorsteps! Although Dean is still a Category 1 hurricane, it can still do much damage. All we can do is keep them in our prayers and hope the ride out the storm OK. I hope it does not strengthen at all, as this would mean disaster for those islands and Jamaica. And Jamaica with it's every slipping dollar and declining economy definitely can't handle a hurricane right now, much more a stronger one.

So brace yourself and stay tuned to Stunner's Affliction, Caribbean Hurricane Central. OK, the Hurricane Central thing did just sound cool, so I had to say it! But I will be providing updates as the hurricane crosses the Caribbean. Batten up, stock up and be safe!

Read More