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pool and Jacuzzi at Indies Suites just after Hurricane Ivan passed Grand Cayman Hurricane Ivan striking Grand Cayman. Morritts Tortuga Club
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I am trying to find out some information about hurricane Ivan and its
impact on Grand Cayman. I wanted to know why the surge affecting the
island was so severe. I want to find out what causes surge and if the
storm had any unusual patterns or characteristics that may have
increased the surge's effect such as back-tracking or stalling or
hitting at high tide or slow movement etc.
Hi,
2004 saw a huge display of atmospheric angst. Over 1500 tornadoes were
reported, and nine named tropical storms in the Atlantic coast area
from Texas to North Carolina. Four of these were hurricanes of the
large and damaging type. As you know, Ivan was one of the largest of
these.
Storm Surges
"Storm surges can come ashore up to five hours before the storm and
destroy low-elevation coastal areas. It is especially damaging when
the storm surge occurs during high tide and consequently is often
responsible for most hurricane-related deaths. Storm surge is a large
dome of water often 50 to 100 miles wide that sweeps across the
coastline near where a hurricane makes landfall. Storm surge can range
from 4 to 6 feet for a minimal hurricane to greater than 20 feet for
the stronger ones. The surge of high water topped by waves is
devastating. The stronger the hurricane and the shallower the offshore
water, the higher the surge will be. Along the immediate coast, storm
surge is the greatest threat to life and property, even more so than
the high winds."
(See referance links below)
Topography:
Terrain: low-lying limestone base surrounded by coral reefs
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: The Bluff 43 m
Grand Cayman's tide table is based on that of Galveston, Texas, minus
8 hours 1 minute. Spring tides range from 10 to 12 inches and
autumn/fall tides from 15 to 20 inches.
According to the tide table I found (see link below), it was low tide
at the time Ivan hit the Caymans.
Ivane hit Grand Cayman on the 12th at 1345 EST, sustained wind speed
was 130 kts. with gusts to 149 kts. The surge that hit was 8-10 feet
high with a total rain downpour of 12.14 inches. Ivan was at Category
4 when it hit the Grand Cayman, coming down from Category 5. The
coast line and water depth around Grand Cayman is certainly optimum
for a very devastating surge.
Something to keep in mind however is that if it had been high tide,
the expected surge would have been much higher (perhaps up to 20
feet), and more forceful. So, truth be told, they lucked out really.
It could have been much worse.
Even with the long history the Caymans have with tropical storms, Ivan
stood out simply because of its strength. Staying between Category 4
and 5 is not common, thankfully. So I would say that the "uncommon"
thing we are looking for is simply the strength of the storm itself,
rather than any particular anomaly of the event.
Reference Links
Western Caribbean Bathymetry Map
http://stormcarib.com/climatology/WCAR_map_bathy.htm
Grand Cayman Tide Table 2004-09-12
http://www.mobilegeographics.com:81/locations/2236.html?y=2004&m=9&d=12
Grand Cayman Fact Book
http://www.gesource.ac.uk/worldguide/html/848.html
Bathymetry/Topography
http://www.gesource.ac.uk/worldguide/tectonics/11.html
Hurricane Summary 2004
http://www.maineharbors.com/weather/h2004sm.htm
Unisys Weather: Hurricane
http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/
Tropical Cyclone
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane
Storm Surge
http://hurricanes.noaa.gov/prepare/surge.htm
The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml
Public Adisory Archive for Tropical Depression Ivan
http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/tropical2004/IVAN/IVAN_archive.shtml
Hurricane Ivan Advisory Archive
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2004/IVAN.shtml?
Tropical Cyclone Report -- Hurricane Ivan
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/2004ivan.shtml?
Hurricane Ivan (Sea pressure charts)
http://www.atmos.ucla.edu/~fovell/WRF/ivan/
Storm Track Hurricane Ivan
http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic/archive/2004/storms/ivan/ivan.html
Stormy onslaught continues
http://www.geo.utexas.edu/courses/302p/Stormy%20onslaught%20continues.htm
Other links of interest
Comprehensive Atmospheric Modeling Program
http://camp.gmu.edu/significant_weather_prediction.html
UGM Experiments During Hurricane IVAN
http://www.met.utah.edu/jnpaegle/homepages/labyerle/hurr_ivan15sep.html
Hurricane Ivan Impact Studies
http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes/ivan/discussion.html
FEMA Mapping and Analysis Center (Hurricane Ivan)
http://www.gismaps.fema.gov/2004pages/ivan.shtm
Caribbean Hurricane Network
http://www.stormcarib.com/
Hurricane Ivan - Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Ivan
Reynolds SST Analysis
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2004/pub/al092004.public.039.shtml
Hurricane Ivan Advisory Number 39 (24 hours from Cayman Islands)
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2004/pub/al092004.public.039.shtml
What if Hurricane Ivane had not Missed New Orleans?
http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/o/nov04/nov04c.html
SSEC Images and Data
http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/data/
http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/~gumley/modis_gallery/index.html
CIMSS Tropical Cyclones
http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic/
Searches used
+topography +map +"Cayman Islands"
+Bathymetry +"Cayman Islands"
+"Tide Table" +"Grand Cayman" +2004
+"Storm Surge" +Cause +Hurricane
Hurricane Ivan +"Cayman" +surge site:edu
many others...
If you have questions please feel free to use the Clarification Feature
thanks,
webadept-ga Hurricane Ivan and Grand Cayman::
Subject: Hurricane Ivan and Grand Cayman. Category: Science > Earth Sciences Subject: Re: Hurricane Ivan and Grand Cayman. Answered By: webadept-ga on 27
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