An Online Blog About the Daily Happenings of St. John, USVI
News of St. John Despite concerns yesterday, forecasters are less worried about tropical storm Gaston reforming and being a problem.
"Latest radar out of Martinique and Puerto Rico show a few heavy rain showers moving through the islands, but no organization to (them)," said Jeff Masters, a forecaster with WeatherUnderground.com.
"None of the computer models show Gaston redeveloping, and NHC has downgraded the odds of development to 10 percent."
The Spyglass restaurant at Wharfside is for sale for $550,000.
The second-floor, waterfront business has been operated by the owner of Wharfside shopping center since the previous owner left the island in January. The space then operated as the Balcony.
Interestingly, Wharfside is not offering the business through an island real estate agent, at least it's not on the Multiple Listing Service. Instead, he is using an Internet site, Businessesforsale.com, which is a good idea if you're trying to find interest off island.
"Operations are very profitable," the listing says. "Approximately two-thirds of daily revenue is paid for by credit card, and the balance is paid in cash. A restaurant like this is not available for sale very often."
The restaurant is licensed for liquor, beer and wine sales as well as food and may also operate as a cabaret, according to the offering description.
StormCarib.com worries Gaston could be trouble in less than two days.
Radha Speer, who owns a shop at Mongoose Junction, has posted a bunch of photos of the beautiful shopping center, post-Earl.
What you see is what they got. Lots of branches down, a few trees broken, evidence the wind speed was up there … in other words, there's a lot of clean up to do. But Speer's shots show no serious damage.
This a picture of her husband, Glen, the architect and developer of Mongoose, wielding a chainsaw.
The Tropical Storm you forgot about spent the weekend working out, the National Weather Service reported Monday morning.
"The remnant low of Gaston remains a concern," said the NWS in a morning statement. "There is a high chance of this system (remnants which broke down Thursday) becoming a tropical cyclone again" by Tuesday.
"Heavy rains and gusty winds could begin to affect portions of the Leeward Islands late today and tonight," the NWS said. (The VIs are part of the Leeward islands region.)
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A couple of clips of Hurricane Earl's visit to St. John showed up on YouTube this morning. Thankfully, this is all old news.
Most were posted by "walshrmgmail," who, it appears, was on a boat in Cruz Bay harbor, shooting video as the storm began.
The Love City Triathalon and Aquathon, scheduled for Sunday, has been postponed.
"While conditions on the island of St. John are improving after the passing of Hurricane Earl, the road and water upon which the races are conducted are still being cleaned, cleared and repaired," the St. John Landsharks announced.
Organizers said the storm and its cleanup have taxed both physical resources as well as volunteers' time and energy.
"The race organizing committee is concerned with the safety and enjoyment of the participants, along with not overburdening the many race volunteers during this challenging time," the Landsharks said.
Well, that was a real one-day-wonder.
Tropical Storm Gaston, whose computer models showed it nailing the island next Thursday, went 'poof.' It became what's called in the trade a 'remnant low," probably due to its sucking in a lot of dry air which kind of starved the storm for energy.
The National Weather Service cautions, however (that's their job) the mass of unstable air is still moving west and could get new energy.
That's the way lots of St. John locals are thinking today. They just weathered Earl, took notice of Fiona, but now there's Gaston.
In Disney's "Beauty and the Beast," the Gaston character was "everyone's favorite guy." Gaston, the tropical storm, will not be.
Computer models have the storm still far east of the island, but drawing a bead on the VIs.
This image is from the National Hurricane Center. It shows the projected area of hurricane force winds over the next five days.
CaribStorm.com's "Closest Point of Approach" tool estimates Gaston could come as close as 100 miles next Thursday morning. With a big wind area (Earl, today, is 500 miles wide), St. John could get hit.
