Hurricane Problems

In Hurricane Marilyn, there were several deaths. *All* were people on boats. A boat is NOT the place to be in a hurricane. There were some injuries on land due to building collapse, etc. However, most buildings have been rebuilt to tougher standards. If you are inside a well built structure, you should be fine. When the storm is over, you have to watch for glass and nails as well as other debris.

Hurricanes are circular storms, counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere. The strongest winds are in the right forward quadrant as in tracks, so the worst of the storm depends on how close it is to you, if it passes north or south, etc. The winds will come from all directions if it passes over you, including the calm at the eye. Again, in Marilyn, most of the serious damage was due to tornadoes spawned along that right frontal quadrant. It is better not to be exposed high up on Crown Mountain, but you don't want to be right at seaside either... (More than you wanted?)

Thank you!

That was exactly the type info I was looking for! I am moving there in 2 months and always worry about natural disasters from when I lived on the Gulf Coast in Texas and had to worry about hurricanes and tornados.

I appreciate the info 🙂

KJ: Well, if you are moving here in June, that is the start of hurricane season, but God willing, you will not exprerience one this year! The biggest differences between hurricanes here and on the gulf coast are: you can't drive inland and the storm does not dissipate in the same way (doesn't have enough land to sap its strength). However, islands are small targets, so the chances of getting hit directly is small! Just be prepared and make sure your home is secure. And welcome to the USVI!

Thanks East Ender! Must husband and I can not wait to get there and are counting days until we leave 🙂

What do you think about visiting the island the first or second week of August... I'm from Connecticut, please email your advice, I really appreciate it!

August is fine. I assume you are asking for hurricane reasons.:-) Last year we had nothing really, last big storms were 95 and 89. Busy hurricane time historically speaking has September to mid October... East Ender its been a while - Hugo was in late August??? Marilyn mid September - is that right. August is usually still and hot. Late Sept and October gets a bit rainier then other months often because of tropical storms in the area. But some years its not much rainer then any other month. Usually the weather in the VI day to day is about the same... mid 80's, no rain and warm. Winter time we might get a cold 79 degrees in the evening. LOL.

East Ender - makes sense now why you commented on the rain info. I had spoken about - LOL... If you want to check out the site I had gotten that information from its:
http://cirrus.dnr.state.sc.us/cgi-bin/sercc/cliMAIN.pl?vi8905 not sure if I had mentioned it before.

--Islander

Islander: From my history lessons 😉 Hugo was September 16th, Marilyn was September 15th... which is why people are wary of mid-September. This year NO hurricanes... God willing!

Julie: August is a wonderful time to be here. The water is warm enough to snorkel and soak for hours. The tarpon are thick out at Carvel Rock, and the diving clarity is unmatched. The beaches are relatively empty. The flamboyant trees are in full bloom. Genips and mangoes are harvested. Summertime and the living is easy...