"Iffy" weather ahead
Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2010 1:30 pm
Looks like there's a 'slight' chance of things clearing up this afternoon, but according to officials - not likely. And with more to come Saturday. Sorry folks. 
Best advice-- check out the waterfalls and ghuts for a show.
The two words I really hate to see in an island weather report are: Tropical Wave.
They have a tendency to park and just feed on themselves, dumping lots and lots of rain. They can be very unpredictable and frustrating for tourists because there doesn't seem to be an end in sight.
Hang in there!
http://stjohnsource.com/content/news/lo ... -territory
'Iffy' Weather Ahead for Territory
If the tropical disturbance that’s been hanging around for several days develops into a tropical depression, Tuesday’s rain, wind and thundershowers weather will continue. If it doesn’t, the weather could clear up starting late Tuesday.
“Right now there’s a 40 percent chance of it developing in the next 48 hours,” David Sanchez, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in San Juan, said Tuesday morning.
According to the National Hurricane Center website, there are no signs of circulation, but conditions are favorable during the next day or so for it to develop.
Even if it develops when it’s past the Virgin Islands, it will bring up moisture from the Caribbean, Sanchez said. This means more rain.
Don’t get too excited about the possibility of fair weather, though, because another tropical wave could hit Saturday. Sanchez said forecasters won’t have a better handle on its direction by Thursday.
V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency Director Mark Walters has no reports of rockslides, landslides, or major flooding.
“But we do have some localized flooding,” he said.
Sanchez said that if this weather develops into something stronger it will happen when it’s past the area, but Walters said VITEMA is ready for whatever comes along.
The rainfall has come in intermittent showers, but it’s starting to accumulate. Weather Station Zephyr at Ajax Peak, St. John, reported that from midnight to noon Tuesday .72 inches of rain fell. That’s the most in the last week. The total for July stands at 2.71 inches of rain. Last July 1.58 inches of rain fell in all of July but the average for the past seven years is 2.28 inches.
The Charterboat Center on St. Thomas canceled the Tuesday trip to Virgin Gorda.
“Because of the lightning,” manager Al Day said.
The Charter Boat Center only cancels when the weather is dangerous, Day said. If it’s just rainy, he leaves it up to the guests to decide. He said that often, they think that snorkeling in the warm water even if the rain is coming down is better than sitting in their hotel room.
On St. John, the Friends of the Park store in Mongoose Junction, was busier than usual, manager Karl Pytlik said. While people are grumbling about the weather, Pytlik had advice for them.
“I suggest they go out as see the waterfalls and guts,” he said.
Marti Gotts, who owns Vacation St. Croix villa management company, said that some of her guests don’t understand that she can’t personally fix the problem when utilities like power, phone, Internet, and cable TV go out because of the weather.
“But everybody’s taking it pretty good. I told them to open a bottle of wine,” she said.
Best advice-- check out the waterfalls and ghuts for a show.
The two words I really hate to see in an island weather report are: Tropical Wave.
They have a tendency to park and just feed on themselves, dumping lots and lots of rain. They can be very unpredictable and frustrating for tourists because there doesn't seem to be an end in sight.
Hang in there!
http://stjohnsource.com/content/news/lo ... -territory
'Iffy' Weather Ahead for Territory
If the tropical disturbance that’s been hanging around for several days develops into a tropical depression, Tuesday’s rain, wind and thundershowers weather will continue. If it doesn’t, the weather could clear up starting late Tuesday.
“Right now there’s a 40 percent chance of it developing in the next 48 hours,” David Sanchez, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in San Juan, said Tuesday morning.
According to the National Hurricane Center website, there are no signs of circulation, but conditions are favorable during the next day or so for it to develop.
Even if it develops when it’s past the Virgin Islands, it will bring up moisture from the Caribbean, Sanchez said. This means more rain.
Don’t get too excited about the possibility of fair weather, though, because another tropical wave could hit Saturday. Sanchez said forecasters won’t have a better handle on its direction by Thursday.
V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency Director Mark Walters has no reports of rockslides, landslides, or major flooding.
“But we do have some localized flooding,” he said.
Sanchez said that if this weather develops into something stronger it will happen when it’s past the area, but Walters said VITEMA is ready for whatever comes along.
The rainfall has come in intermittent showers, but it’s starting to accumulate. Weather Station Zephyr at Ajax Peak, St. John, reported that from midnight to noon Tuesday .72 inches of rain fell. That’s the most in the last week. The total for July stands at 2.71 inches of rain. Last July 1.58 inches of rain fell in all of July but the average for the past seven years is 2.28 inches.
The Charterboat Center on St. Thomas canceled the Tuesday trip to Virgin Gorda.
“Because of the lightning,” manager Al Day said.
The Charter Boat Center only cancels when the weather is dangerous, Day said. If it’s just rainy, he leaves it up to the guests to decide. He said that often, they think that snorkeling in the warm water even if the rain is coming down is better than sitting in their hotel room.
On St. John, the Friends of the Park store in Mongoose Junction, was busier than usual, manager Karl Pytlik said. While people are grumbling about the weather, Pytlik had advice for them.
“I suggest they go out as see the waterfalls and guts,” he said.
Marti Gotts, who owns Vacation St. Croix villa management company, said that some of her guests don’t understand that she can’t personally fix the problem when utilities like power, phone, Internet, and cable TV go out because of the weather.
“But everybody’s taking it pretty good. I told them to open a bottle of wine,” she said.
