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UPDATE:
The information in this article is no longer correct. Tropical Storm Isaac has now passed by the Dominican Republic.
Here in Casa de Campo, sports facilities, services and restaurants are reopened with the exception of the Teeth of the Dog golf course – which is currently being clear-up as it was damaged by the storm surge.
For PHOTOS and more about Tropical Storm Isaac in Casa de Campo, CLICK HERE!
Good morning Casa de Campo campers! It’s yet another bright, sunny and beautiful day in the Dominican Republic….but all is not as it seems – yesterday afternoon Tropical Depression 9, did indeed develop into Tropical Storm Isaac (as predicted) and remains on a predicted path directly over the Dominican Republic – expected to be with us by Friday as a category 1 hurricane. Not particularly good news.
“AFFECTS OF TROPICAL STORM ISAAC TO BE FELT IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC VERY SOON” – click here to read the full article and our latest update.
So in the spirit of keeping you as “up-to-date” as possible, here is a quick summary of everything we know at this point:
FACT:
• Located to the East of Guadelope, Tropical Storm Isaac is moving WEST at 20mph with maximum sustained winds of 45mph
• At 7am this morning, ONAMET (the Dominican Republic weather service) emitted an official hurricane and tropical storm alert for the Dominican Republic.
PREDICTIONS:
Over the last few years writing “tropical weather updates”, I have learnt that Tropical Cyclones are VERY unpredictable…so it’s best to say that everything else that we “know” about Tropical Storm Isaac, we don’t really know at all – nevertheless here are the PREDICTIONS!
• Today, Tropical Storm Isaac will continue to move WEST across the Lesser Antilles, strengthen as he goes.
• Through Thursday and Friday, Tropical Storm Isaac is predicted to start moving slightly move Northwards, on a more North-West path up towards the Dominican Republic.
• By Friday morning, Tropical Storm Isaac will have maximum sustained winds of 85mph, making him a category 1 hurricane – Hurricane Isaac.
• From Friday morning through Saturday, Hurricane Isaac will move across the Dominican Republic, with maximum sustained winds of up to 85mph – bringing lots of rain and causing “limited” damage.
• On Saturday, Hurricane Isaac will pass across Haiti, still as a category 1 hurricane, but with less strong winds of 75mph.
• From Saturday onwards Hurricane Isaac is expected to continue moving North-West across Cuba and towards Florida.
Satellite image of Tropical Storm Isaac (Wednesday, August 22nd, 9am)
What will really happen?
WE DON’T KNOW!
Remember at this time last year, Hurricane Irene was predicted to directly hit the Eastern coast of the Dominican Republic – but fortunately at the last minute she curved North….meaning that although we did get some heavy rain and high winds, damage to the La Romana and Casa de Campo area was minimal.
• Click here to see photos of Casa de Campo after hurricane Irene had passed to the North
• Click here to see photos of the storm surge which washed over the Teeth of the Dog
What does this mean for us (in the Dominican Republic, Casa de Campo and La Romana)??
• Whatever happens (good, bad or ugly) by Friday morning we will be getting some bad weather – just how severe we do not yet know.
• We need to start getting prepared – click here for our list of tips for getting yourself and your Casa de Campo villa in case of a hurricane.
• The damage level associated with a category 1 hurricane is (fortunately) classified as “minimal” and can include: flooding, flash floods, landslides and limited damage to wooden and/or fragile buildings and roads.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a weather-girl
For those of your who have never met me (or those who don’t know me very well) – I am not at all qualified in “weather predictions”. I have a Math degree, I was a math teacher for 5 years and for the last 4 years have been the editor of Casa de Campo Living website (this one), the social editor of CasaLife magazine and now I am also editor of TODO Casa de Campo magazine. Which means that in order to bring you these wonderfully insightful weather updates I use google and my common sense….not any superior knowledge of hurricanes etc. Nevertheless I hope you enjoy my updates! Have a great day!
KEEP INFORMED!
Whilst we at Casa de Campo Living will do our best to keep you informed, we recommend the following for keeping extra-informed:
• www.nhc.noaa.gov – The National Hurricane Centre
• www.weather.com – The Weather Channel
• ONAMET.gov.do – the Dominican Republic’s official weather warning people (this one is in Spanish)
• Twitter: We recommend following NHC_Atlantic – for regular tweets on hurricanes, tropical storms etc