Will it be a September to remember, or a month best forgotten?
It’s early days yet, but with this month being the traditional peak of the hurricane season, storm preparedness in Cayman is hitting a higher gear.
The same applies elsewhere across the Caribbean, Central America, Gulf of Mexico and Southern and eastern coastal areas of the United States, all of which lie in the hurricane belt.
In a post on its social media page a few days ago after the near-miss of Hurricane Ida, Hazard Management Cayman Islands (HMCI) advised that “residents should bear in mind there are still plenty of systems out there and while none of these present a threat to the Cayman Islands, we are still two weeks away from the statistical peak of the season.”
The US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) is tracking three systems at present, among them: the remnants of Ida still creating havoc across several US states after leaving a trail of destruction in New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana.
There’s also Tropical Depression Kate which by Tuesday was around 780 nautical miles north-east of the Northern Leeward Islands moving north-north-west at 8 knots. Forecasters were expecting it to turn toward the northwest with a further shift to the north and north-northeast forecast late by Thursday into early Friday.
That will keep it out in the Atlantic and far away from Cayman and any other land area.
Little change in strength is forecast and Kate is expected to gradually weaken thereafter dissipating by Friday.
Also out in the Atlantic is a newly developed tropical storm named Larry that could be of interest in the days to come.
On September 1st it was centered near 12.3N 24.8W or 150 nm S of the Southernmost Cabo Verde Islands moving W at 17 knots with an estimated minimum central pressure of 1003 millibars and maximum sustained wind speed of 40 knots with gusts to 50 knots.
According to the NHC, on the forecast track, a westward to west-northwestward motion is expected during the next couple of days, followed by a turn to the northwest over the weekend.
Additional strengthening is forecast during the next few days and Larry is expected to become a hurricane by late Thursday or Friday.
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