So the conglomeration of warm winds and squally clouds that formed out in the Atlantic, having been blown from the Sarah, today organised itself and became Tropical Storm Matthew.
Up until today it was simply known as Investigation 97 Longtitude East or Invest97Le.
Storm Matthew spent the day ravaging Barbados, but the storm is 650 miles across so this afternoon wet weather and lightening storms have reached Grand Cayman and we have had a hint of the storms awesome power.
Over the next couple of days Storm Matthew is predicted to become a Catagory 2 hurricane and to turn northwards and head towards Jamacia and Cuba.
However predicting storm paths is not an exact science so we are getting prepared here for a windy weekend.
‘Prepare for the worst and hope for the best’ is the motto here, so tomorrow we will fill the cars with fuel, get out emergency cash and stock up the food cupboards.
Along with everyone else we will watch the unfolding news closely. But as I am the key holder for one of the main hurricane shelters on the island (my school) I will be getting regular updates like the one above so that worse comes to worse I can turn my school over to our local Hurricane Committee.
Quite a responsibility given I have been here for less than two months. The reality of my role is I have carry the keys at all times and have my emergency phone on and charged up 24/7.
‘Hurricane Shelter Key Holder’, that’s an interesting one for the old CV!
But seriously even a near miss or a side swipe from 650 mile wide storm can be very bumpy, a direct hit can be devastating. The last hurricane to make landfall here was Ivan, and the scars it left run deep. Physically and mentally.
Under an Endless Sky 