So I slept in this morning, figuring I'll be up late tonight and I don't want to be groggy or anything. Emily has strengthened to a Cat4 hurricane and is packing winds as high as 145mph (official forecast) but according to the flight engineer on the hurricane hunter this morning, it SHOULD be higher than that, but the dropsondes they dropped don't support his hypothesis, so NOAA is sticking with 145mph and higher gusts.
Im off to work in a few minutes, we have to shut down all the systems and cover up all the computers, then get the data backup tapes on one plane and the hard drives on another. Cayman airways is spreading out the planes, 2 to Miami, 1 to Tampa, 1 to Houston and 1 to Chicago, so our data should be safe SOMEWHERE. Though this storm isn't forecast to head to Miami or the Gulf Coast, our policy has always been to get the two separated as much as we can, “just in case”
Our home preps are almost done, there's just a couple windows left to board up. Unfortunately one of them is right next to where I'm sitting typing this, so I'm a bit apprehensive that they haven't done this one yet.
Im going to hitchhike in to work and back, because I got the sweetest parking spot for my jeep and I don't want to chance giving it up. It's between the other apt building and the trash dumpster, which is a concrete block wall. She's facing south and protected east and west, so that should keep the brunt of the wind off of any parts that are soft top and instead the forecast ESE winds will hit it obliquely on the windshield. I also put a 2x6 across the roll bars above the front seats so that the five to ten inches of rain we're expecting won't collect up and stretch the top right there and maybe contribute to roof failure. I found a piece of plywood that fits across the roll bars at the back, too to support the back flap of the roof. Now that it's all done and “put to bed” I'll probably disconnect the battery tonight (just in case, before it gets dark out) and I dont want to move it from it's spot now. :)
We're expecting the conditions to get crappy around 4pm leading up to an eye passage (97 miles south) around 2am this morning. All bets are off though, the way this storm has been wobbling and can't make up her mind (typical...)
I'll post more later, and tonight after the weather starts to crap out.
NOAA National Hurricane Center
Cayman Islands Government
VirtualBuoy
Naval Atlantic Meteorology and Oceanography Center
Crown Weather Service
*Storm Carib (Closest Point of Approach Application)
Weather Underground (computer models)
*Note: take things you read on Storm Carib with a grain of salt. The “reports” they tend to get from “the islands” tend to be a bit sensationalistic and repeat a lot of rumor and hearsay. They did provide a valuable service, in the form of message boards and a missing persons list last year, but the people who contribute to the site I wouldn't put 100% faith in for an accurate picture.
Update: 12:24 apaprently I screwed up on the links. they're all fixed now except BuoyWeather, as I dont have that URL with me here at work.