Emily is expected to hit the island sometime today. If you are one of the people visiting the island you might want to be thinking about some indoor activities for the day. There are many pretty good shopping centers in the DR especially in the capital (Santo Domingo) and Santiago. Also many of the larger tourist areas have some pretty good sopping areas.
The storm is expected to ht the DR with 50 mph winds and up to 10 inches of rain in some areas. The south is usually the hardest hit, but forecast say that the winds could reach up to 100 mph as the storm reaches some of the mountains in the Dominican Republic.
As I write this post, I’m looking out at a partially cloudy sky and it is warming up to be a nice day. That is one of the interesting parts about living on an island. The weather changes rapidly and within a very short time I could see a dramatic change in the weather, but at this point that remains to be seen.
Best advise at this time. Expect a storm to hit so remain close to shelter, but if it hasn’t hit yet go find something interesting to do. Once the winds start picking up and you see the dark clouds coming it’s time to start checking out some indoor activities!If you happen to be stuck in your motel room bored during this storm here area a few facts you might be interested in .
What ranks a storm, depression, hurricane?
- D: Tropical Depression – wind speed less than 39 MPH
- S: Tropical Storm – wind speed between 39 MPH and 73 MPH
- H: Hurricane – wind speed between 74 MPH and 110 MPH
- M: Major Hurricane – wind speed greater than 110 MPH
In this case, Emily is a Tropical storm, at least at this time. The sustained winds (for one minute) are expected to remain at around 50mph. This could change as Emily moves up the US coastline.
To keep up to date on the advisorys you can check nhc.noaa.gov This is the National Weather services, National Hurricane Center.
August 4th, 2011 at 5:02 am
As of 8am EDT Emily is just off the coast of Hispaniola. Winds at about 40 mph with maximum sustained winds at 50 mph
DISCUSSION AND 48-HOUR OUTLOOK
——————————
AT 800 AM EDT…1200 UTC…THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM EMILY WAS
LOCATED BY AN AIR FORCE RECONNAISSANCE PLANE NEAR LATITUDE 17.1
NORTH…LONGITUDE 71.8 WEST. EMILY HAS BEEN MEANDERING DURING THE
PAST FEW HOURS BUT IS EXPECTED TO RESUME A WEST-NORTHWEST TRACK
NEAR 7 MPH…11 KM/H…THIS MORNING. A TURN TOWARD THE NORTHWEST
WITH AN INCREASE IN FORWARD SPEED IS EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT DAY
OR SO. ON THIS TRACK…THE CENTER OF EMILY WILL MOVE ACROSS THE
SOUTHWESTERN PENINSULA OF HAITI LATER TODAY AND MOVE OVER EXTREME
EASTERN CUBA TONIGHT OR EARLY FRIDAY.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS REMAIN NEAR 50 MPH…85 KM/H…WITH HIGHER
GUSTS. SOME WEAKENING IS POSSIBLE DURING THE NEXT 24 TO 36 HOURS AS
EMILY INTERACTS WITH THE HIGH TERRAIN OF HAITI AND EASTERN CUBA.
SOME RE-STRENGTHENING IS POSSIBLE WHEN THE CYCLONE MOVES OVER THE
BAHAMAS.
TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 115 MILES…185 KM
MAINLY TO THE NORTH AND EAST OF THE CENTER.
THE MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE RECENTLY REPORTED BY AN AIR FORCE
RECONNAISSANCE PLANE WAS 1005 MB…29.68 INCHES.
HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND
———————-
RAINFALL…EMILY IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE TOTAL RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS
OF 6 TO 12 INCHES WITH ISOLATED AMOUNTS OF 20 INCHES POSSIBLE
OVER THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC AND HAITI. THESE RAINS COULD CAUSE
LIFE-THREATENING FLASH FLOODS AND MUD SLIDES. TOTAL RAIN
ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES ARE EXPECTED IN THE SOUTHEASTERN AND
CENTRAL BAHAMAS…AND THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS. EMILY IS
EXPECTED TO PRODUCE ADDITIONAL RAIN ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES
IN PUERTO RICO.
WIND…TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE LIKELY OCCURRING OVER PORTIONS
OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC…PRIMARILY ALONG THE SOUTHERN
COAST…AND WILL LIKELY SPREAD OVER HAITI TODAY. TROPICAL STORM
CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO REACH EXTREME EASTERN CUBA…THE
SOUTHEASTERN BAHAMAS AND THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS TONIGHT…AND
THE CENTRAL BAHAMAS ON FRIDAY. TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE
POSSIBLE IN THE NORTHWESTERN BAHAMAS EARLY SATURDAY.
STORM SURGE…A STORM SURGE WILL RAISE WATER LEVELS BY 1 TO 3 FEET
ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS IN THE TROPICAL STORM WARNING AREA. NEAR
THE COAST…THE SURGE WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY LARGE AND DANGEROUS
WAVES.
August 4th, 2011 at 1:48 pm
latest advisory at 5pm EDT.
Good news
“EMILY DEGENERATES INTO A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE…HEAVY RAINS
CONTINUE OVER HISPANIOLA”
“THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC…CUBA AND THE BAHAMAS
HAVE DISCONTINUED ALL TROPICAL STORM WATCHES AND WARNINGS.
SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT…
THERE ARE NO COASTAL WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT.”