Well folks, it looks like a tropical storm is heading toward St. John. St. John, St. Thomas, St. Croix and Puerto Rico are officially under a tropical storm warning.
So what exactly does that mean? It means that tropical storm conditions are expected to arrive in the territory by Saturday morning. Here’s the official info from VI-Alert:
“At 8 a.m., the center of Tropical Storm Bertha was estimated near latitude 13.6 degrees north, longitude 57.9 degrees west. Bertha is moving toward the west-northwest near 20 miles per hour and this general motion is expected to continue for the next couple of days.
On the forecast track Bertha is expected to pass near or north of Barbados during the next several hours and move through the central Lesser Antilles tonight and into the northeastern Caribbean on Saturday.
Maximum sustained winds remain near 45 miles per hour with higher gusts. No significant change in strength is forecast during the next 48 hours. Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 45 miles from the center.
Tropical storm conditions are expected in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Saturday. Bertha is expected to produce rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches with isolated amounts up to 6 inches across portions of the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the Leeward Islands through Saturday night.”
For those of you on island, you can sign up to receive text message or email alerts at VI-Alert.gov. Here is the direct link to sign up for notifications: https://users.vialert.gov/
So official information aside…
In true St. John fashion, some of our favorite spots are gearing up for the storm in the best way they know how – by planning storm parties!
Woody’s is planning to have a storm party all day Saturday and Sunday with $4 Hurricane Drinks.
Castaway’s is also having a storm party because when it rains, they pour. They’re offering $4 Jameson, 2 for 1 bombs and $2 rum drinks beginning at 9 p.m. Saturday.
The Beach Bar will be having $5 Dark & Stormys all day long.
And in case you missed it in the past, here’s a quick little video courtesy of Captain John Brandi that explains just exactly what one should be doing when it rains on St. John. Check it out, enjoy and stay safe everyone!