Hurricane Ivan, Frances's southern relative

Interesting secondhand reports on this forum from people talking to family and friends via cellphone on Grand Cayman Islands



http://stormcarib.com/reports/2004/cayman.shtml

the sound of the weather is very distressing. coconuts are flying off near by trees and hitting against her two story house. Plywood boards are literally peeling off the windows and flying away in the wind. I heard a crashing noise and it was coconuts lodging into her French door upstairs.
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Anyone heard anything more about Grand Cayman? It seems like major media dropped it like a rock with Ivan's impending landfall in the US. I went to the forum link posted above but all I hear is a few roofs blown off, streets flooded etc.

Surely there has to be more substantial damage than this given that the center of the 6th strongest atlantic hurricane ever recorded passed within 30 miles of the small island. Anyone run across any damage pictures?

Did Grand Cayman disappear???? :wink:



EDIT: I did find this story of a "flyover" but still no pictures.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/stor...4493921,00.html

Also, an interesting paragraph in that story:
"Many died on Cayman Brac, what is known as a ``sister island.'' They took shelter in caves on higher ground but then left their refuge in the calm when the eye passed over - only to be struck by the fierce winds from other side of the eyewall."


First of all the eye did not even come close to passing over Brac. Brac is 90 miles NE of Grand Cayman. Wonder who put this story together?
 
I have used the Miami Herald's site a lot for info the last few weeks. They always seem to have links to almost every other story you can find anywhere.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/

Important!

Many died on Cayman Brac, what is known as a ``sister island.'' They took shelter in caves on higher ground but then left their refuge in the calm when the eye passed over - only to be struck by the fierce winds from other side of the eyewall.
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I can't now find where I had read it this morning, but I'm quite sure I read that, but in reference to a hurricane many years ago! (1935??)

Seems like reports are somewhat conflicting about the amount of damage.

In some places, there are quotes that the damage is "Devastation beyond imagination", while other reports are more along the lines of "25-50% of structures damaged or destroyed." I don't know that 25% of structures damaged/destroyed quite equates with "...beyond imagination".

Bob

[edit] OK, cool, I found it:

The Caymans - a group of three islands that draw hundreds of thousands of tourists and cruise ship passengers a year - have not experienced a storm of this ferocity since 1932.

In that year, an era before hurricanes were given names, one storm made a direct hit, taking hundreds of lives.

Many died on Cayman Brac, what is known as a \"sister island.\" They took shelter in caves on higher ground but then left their refuge in the calm when the eye passed over - only to be struck by the fierce winds from other side of the eyewall.
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That came from this AP article:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SUR...EMPLATE=DEFAULT
 

I don't understand something: How come New Orleans is under a hurricane warning and yet NWS is forecasting 30 to 55 mph winds?
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You'll rarely see the local NWS office post hurricane conditions on their sites. They'll put up the icon for winds and use wording like 'hurricane conditions possible.' I'm not sure of the reasoning but I always check, and I've never seen a forecast on one of the pages indicating sustained winds 140 mph gusting to 165...
 
I've seen local office forecast hurricane conditions even recently (during the landfall of Charlie the local office made a forecast for the Punta Gordo (sp?) area of winds of 120 mph) - they forecast whatever they want - and are not bound by what NHC forecasts. Therefore, just because NHC has their area under a hurricane warning, if they don't expect hurricane conditions, they don't have to have it in the forecast. Think of it like a severe thunderstorm warning. Often, the warning is for a larger area (a county) than the area of the county which will actually experience severe conditions. It's not quite the same thing with hurricane warnings, but they issue for a larger area than is expected to be impacted - in case the storm takes an unexpected turn, or doesn't take an expected turn in this case.

Glen
 
I just got word from a friend who evacuated the New Orleans area. He is in Dallas now, first place he could find a motel.
 
Is it just or does there seem to be an abnormally high proportion of nighttime landfalls for all hurricanes here in the U.S.? Charlie seemed to be the exception. All of the other notable ones I can recall came ashore at night. Looks like Ivan is going to do the same thing.

Tim
 
Weather and Chasing

I'm wondering if "Ivan" was named after Ivan Ray Tannehill. Also trying to decide if he would be flattered or is turning in his grave.

Chuck
 
I just have to say something....

For about 6 years now, my parents have spent all of every February in a ground floor condo on the beach in Gulf Shores AL, about 100 feet from the water, elevation approx. 10 feet. My Mom's sister stays there also, on the 4th floor (of about 14).

Ground zero.

They are glad, tonight, that they don't own it.....just rent.

Bob
 
Gulf Shores is taking a beating now... I've posted more on reports from Gulf Shores in the NOW thread, so refer to that if you wish...

I do want to say that I've been pretty impressed with CNN's coverage and the meteorologist "at" CNN. I forget her name, but he has done, IMO, an excellent job so far. She seems very knowledgeable (unlike many of the mets for the 'national' networks) and has done very well mixing science/meteorology and easy-to-understand concepts. I'm usually not a fan of network meteorologists (by network, I mean Al Roker's of the industry), but she's impressed me.
 
My handicapped great aunt who just lost her husband about a month ago lives in a house on the beach in Gulf Shores. I'm afraid that she is going to lose everything that she owned. Please pray for her!
 
These aren't first hand storm reports and I am not looking to start a new thread.

I got a better view of that causeway that failed around Pensacola. Looks like it held together very well. They big problem was the spans weren't well connected to the pilings and the water "bumped" them off. Or they were well connected and those were some big waves. I talked to a friend in Fort Walton Beach. Engineers were worried about the integrity of the bridge over to the barrier island there, could be damaged, but they are driving on it. He also reported all the other cliched images, boats and barges on houses, apartment buildings collapsed, and knee deep water everywhere.
 
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