Cayman Weather - uh oh

[Parrotfish]

We are supposed to leave for Grand Cayman on Friday and I just saw the forecast is for rain the whole week! We were planning to do mostly shore diving this time.

How accurate do the forecasts tend to be? How worried should I be? Since we're flying stand-by I could cancel the trip without much expense. I don't want to over-react, but I also don't want to spend a week sitting in my expensive hotel room.

Thanks,

Parrotfish

 

[zf2nt]

What, are you afraid of getting wet??? This time of year, short cloud bursts are fairly common, but then the sun comes out afterwards and dries things up. Matter of fact, you would have a fairly hard time finding a full week without any rain right now. (The dry season is December - April, for future reference.) I just looked at the water vapor satellite image (http://www.goes.noaa.gov/browsh3.html) and it sure looks clear to me. I would say go for it and don't worry!

Bruce

 

[CuriousMe]

I can't speak for next week, but we're in Cayman today....it's sprinkled a bit this afternoon....but it was a sunshower, it's been bright and sunny all day. Got two great dives in!

Peace,
Cathie

 

[Drew Sailbum]

Cayman has just completed the driest April since records have been kept. Only 0.03 inches of rain all month at the weather station. This despite a forecast of 10-20% chance of rain almost every day all month long.

The newspapers talk about drought conditions, and the parts of the island not hooked up to desalinated piped water are watching their cisterns dry out. If we don't get some serious rain soon, it looks like I'll be chipping in for a truckload of water at my apartment building.

We have gotten a few showers since May 1, but not much. When it does rain, it follows the normal pattern. During the day, showers tend to come in short squalls. It starts and ends all within 20 minutes. There can be longer peiods of rain overnight which normally end shortly after dawn.

All day rains are extremely rare in Cayman! Such events are usually associated with either a nor'wester in the winter, or a tropical storm/hurricane later in the year.

One guy in East End has a web-enabled weather station hooked up on his house. The weekly rainfall graph doesn't show much.

Coincidentally, as I was typing this reply, it started to rain at my apartment. Unfortunately it stopped raining just as fast.

 

[Parrotfish]

Thanks for the update. I was worried about a total rainout - if it's just a little rainy for part of the day that will be no problem at all. Wunderground.com just showed me pictures of angry thunderclouds with not much detail, so I got a little panicked.

Drew - thanks for all the information you share on this board. We have learned a lot planning this trip by reading your posts.

Parrotfish

 

[nbdiver]

to add to this, is it a bit too risky to plan a trip in August to Grand Cayman? I am hearing this year is expected to be a bad Hurricane season. Any thoughts?

 

[Drew Sailbum]

to add to this, is it a bit too risky to plan a trip in August to Grand Cayman? I am hearing this year is expected to be a bad Hurricane season. Any thoughts?

Visibility is superb, and seas are relatively calm... all so long as there isn't a hurricane around.

While hurricane season officially runs from June 1 to November 30, things don't usually start hopping around this corner of the Caribbean until September. Even so, we are very rarely hit directly (2 in 70+ years) but are occsionally washed out by a close call.

It's anyone's guess whether this season will be above normal, below normal, or just plain average. We take absolutely no heed of such long range forecasts.

 

[nbdiver]

Visibility is superb, and seas are relatively calm... all so long as there isn't a hurricane around.

While hurricane season officially runs from June 1 to November 30, things don't usually start hopping around this corner of the Caribbean until September. Even so, we are very rarely hit directly (2 in 70+ years) but are occsionally washed out by a close call.

It's anyone's guess whether this season will be above normal, below normal, or just plain average. We take absolutely no heed of such long range forecasts.

Thanks for the feedback. Any recommendations on dive sites or shops to go with while we are out there?

 

[scubajoe]

While hurricane season officially runs from June 1 to November 30, things don't usually start hopping around this corner of the Caribbean until September. Even so, we are very rarely hit directly (2 in 70+ years) but are occsionally washed out by a close call.

And I managed to be there for Mitch!!
We were on the Brac 3 weeks ago and were told there had been no significant rain in more then 4 months.
The Westerly Ponds weren't ponds, just dried mud. They need rain almost as much as the Texas Panhandle!

Joe

 

[Drew Sailbum]

Thanks for the feedback. Any recommendations on dive sites or shops to go with while we are out there?

There are several good operators. Most of the dive ops are on the west side (including Seven Mile Beach, Georgetown, and West Bay). There are only three dive ops in all of East End, but that's where the reefs are healthiest. Only one dive op in Northside (Cayman Kai & Rum Point area).

Keep in mind that the prevailing winds are roughly easterly. Since East End is the upwind side of the island, the seas are generally choppier than the west side. Things can get pretty rough occasionally, though summer is the calmest time of year.

I work at one of the dive ops in East End.