Transcript Turks and Caicos Islands Hurricane Summary 2012

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The 2012 Atlantic hurricane season is a very
active hurricane season.
Thus far we have seen 19 storms which exceeds
the number of predicted storms for the season.
(10 hurricanes, 1 major ).
There was an early start to this hurricane season
with tropical storms Alberto and Beryl developing
during the month of May, a few weeks ahead of
the official start to the 2012 hurricane season.
2012 Hurricane
Season summary
19 Storms
10 Hurricanes
1 Major
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There was no real threat to the Turks and Caicos
Islands this 2012 hurricane season.
The islands were under a tropical storm warning
on August 24th and 25th as Isaac approached
Haiti which is to our southwest. Isaac brought
gusty winds an about an inch of rain.
Short lived tropical storm Patty also brought little
rain and slight gust in winds across the islands.
Hurricane Isaac
Aug. 21- Sept 1
Peak 80mph
Int. 968 mb
Tropical Storm Patty
Oct 11 – Oct 13
Peak 45mph
Int. 1005 mb
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Hurricane Sandy had more impacts on the Turks
and Caicos Islands than the previous 2 storms as
it relates to wind and rain.
The islands were not placed under any watches
or warnings for this storm although the
southeastern Bahamas was placed under a
tropical storm warning.
Sandy brought average winds of 27kts with gusts
to 38kts and an accumulated amount of 3.7
inches of rain from October 24th to the 26th.
Hurricane Sandy
On Oct 24
Cat. 1
Hurricane Sandy
Oct. 22 – Oct 29
Peak 110mph
Int. 940 mb
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During these storms the National Emergency
Operations Centre NEOC which is the Disaster
Management and Emergencies coordinating
centre was activated.
Approved shelters were opened to accommodate
persons who deemed it necessary to seek better
safety.
This may have been necessary due to their
homes being vulnerable or their homes may have
been in low lying flood-prone areas.
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We are now in a better position to track and
monitor ALL tropical systems be it a threat or
not to the Turks and Caicos Islands by use of
our new HURRTRAK Advanced 2012 software.
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Communications from the NEOC to the
general public has become very effective
within the past few years.
Warning messages are being broadcast on all
local television channels and radio stations.
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With the assistance of all three
telecommunications service providers,
warnings issued by the NEOC are being sent
out to general public via text messages.
Also since just about everyone is now using a
smart phone, messages are now being sent
out via Blackberry messaging (bbm) or
WhatsApp.
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There was a cause for concern in the past for
messages being sent out in this fashion because
anyone could have been sending these messages
out people would just forward it.
All messages approved for radio, television and
text messages must be provided by the NEOC
and signed by the individual in charge.
All BBM and WhatsApp messages will have the
name of the individual in charge of the NEOC at
the bottom of each message.
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Since the passage of hurricane Ike in
September of 2008 the population gained a
much greater respect for watches and
warnings being issued for the TCI and now
have a higher level of preparedness.
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The Turks and Caicos Islands did not suffer
any damages this hurricane season except for
flooding in the usual low lying flood-prone
areas.
Front Street,
Grand Turk
Turks & Caicos Islands
After Sandy passed
Thank you!
Kendre Wilson
Turks & Caicos Islands Airports Authority
Meteorological Officer
[email protected]