Cat 4 Hurricane Paloma Questions Answered
UPDATE: Here are the answers to the questions I posed this morning:
1. Has there ever been a Hurricane "Paloma" before?
No, in fact there have only been three "P" storms in the recorded history of the Atlantic according to the NOAA GIS Hurricane database (going back to around 1850). They were Pablo 1995, Peter 2003, and Phillipe 2005 (Phillipe was the only hurricane, and he was only a Cat 1). No "P" storm name has ever been retired. Previous "P" names from 2005-2007 were Philippe, Patty, and Pablo. Upcoming "P" names after Paloma are Peter, Paula, Patty, and Pablo. The list rotates every 6 years.
2. How rare are Category 4 Hurricanes in November?
It's rare, but certainly not unprecedented. According to WikiPedia, there have only been five other Cat 4's in November, the Cuba Hurricane of 1932 (which was also a Cat 4 at landfall), Hurricane Greta in 1956, a Cat 4 storm over the Atlantic, Hurricane Joan in 1988 (a Cat 4 storm which crossed over into the Pacific and was renamed Miriam), Hurricane Michelle in 2001, and Hurricane Lenny, a borderline Cat 5 storm in 1999. You can see by the Comment at the bottom of this blog that Paloma may, in fact, rank as the #2 strongest storm in November.
3. How much damage did the Cayman Islands suffer?
We won't know the full extent of the damage for days, but eyewitness reports from StormCarib.com indicate (not surprisingly) than many homes have been damaged, power is out, and one Police station lost its roof. The local newspaper says there are "reports of widespread destruction" on the smaller islands, but that power was back and some stores were already open on Grand Cayman. A webcam on Grand Cayman didn't show much damage this afternoon.
UPDATE: Here's the current radar from Cuba:
ORIGINAL POST:
Impressive Category 4 Hurricane Paloma has passed very close to the Cayman Islands overnight. Here's a satellite picture this morning. Later today, I will be answering these questions:
1. Has there ever been a Hurricane "Paloma" before? 2. How rare are Category 4 Hurricanes in November? 3. How much damage did the Cayman Islands suffer?
This is our morning prediction of what areas in the Caribbean will experience as she moves through today:
Here's a picture as the hurricane began to come ashore yesterday...
Report a Typo
