A tropical storm warning has been issued for St. John and the surrounding Caribbean islands. Invest 92L has crossed the Leeward Islands and is now called ‘Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine’.
According to VITEMA director Daryl Jaschen, this large storm has been difficult to define and track. We anticipate winds at 45-50 miles per hour throughout most of the evening and tapering off around 1:00 am, with three to six inches of rain. It is not expected to develop into a hurricane at this time, but given that it is a possibility, please be prepared with your your supplies and plans in place.
The Governor has issued a mandatory curfew from midnight tonight until 12:00 pm tomorrow, and another update will be given tomorrow morning around 7:00 am to determine whether the curfew order can be safely lifted.
The last passenger ferry departed St. John at 11:00 am this morning. All ports are closing to inbound and outbound traffic at noon today, and will re-open when conditions are safe. The airport on St. Thomas is open.
The National Guard is on call and prepared to deploy if necessary. A team of 30 FEMA members are standing by in Coral Bay in the event that we receive significant storm damage.
All governmental offices will close at 1:00 pm today until further notice. Sandbags will not be made available, and shelters will not open for this storm.
To sign up for storm updates, click here. If you have any non-emergency questions regarding the storm, please call VITEMA at (340) 776-2244.
Stay safe friends #VISTRONG