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St Maarten Hurricane Season 2022

** Tourism Sector and Business Community Reminded to Review Preparations for the Hurricane Season **

National Disaster Coordination and Fire Chief Clive Richardson on Thursday, reminded the business community and the tourism sector to review their plan for the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season.

The Meteorological Department of Sint Maarten (MDS) is currently monitoring a tropical wave located over the eastern tropical Atlantic Ocean. It is possible a tropical depression could form.

Now is the time for the business community in its entirety as well as residents to review what preparations they have in place, and don’t wait until a storm is about to hit the country to rush preparations.

The Office of Disaster Management (ODM) is advising the country’s tourism sector and business community to review hurricane season preparatory plans as the country is exactly one-month away from the peak start of the season which runs from August 15 through October 15.

At this stage of the hurricane season, tourism-oriented businesses including vacation rental management companies should have plans already in place in the event of a hurricane strike.

By having a hurricane plan in place, the business will be able to recover much quickly.

The prevention of the loss of life of staff and visitors along with protecting property from damage is the responsibility of every business owner.

The engine of the economy is based on every single business operation on the island having a plan in place to protect their business and re-open once all clear has been given. Each one plays a very important role in the country’s tourism-oriented service economy.

For general information about preparing prior to a storm/hurricane strike, visit the Government website: www.sintmaartengov.org/hurricane where you will be able to download your “Hurricane Season Readiness Guide’ and “Hurricane Tracking Chart.”

Listen to the Government Radio station – SXMGOV 107.9FM – for official information and news before, during and after a hurricane.

For official weather-related information, check out the website of the Meteorological Department of St. Maarten (MDS): www.meteosxm.com or visit their social media page Facebook.com/sxmweather/

** Hurricane Pass Application Process Starts. Deadline is June 17 **
https://stmaartennews.org/hurricane-pass-application-process-starts-deadline-is-june-17/

The application process for the annual Hurricane Passes for the 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season which starts June 1 and runs through November 30 has started.

There are two types of passes, the Disaster Pass and the Hurricane Pass. No passes will be issued to business owners, only with some exemption categories as noted below.

Official police report Man shot dead on Back Street St Maarten

St Maarten Hurricane Season 2022

The pass allows the bearer to access the public road to visit the place of business to assess possible damage to the property. No company passes will be accepted during curfew hours. This can only take place during certain hours that will be stipulated and announced by the Prime Minister in a curfew situation.

Potential applicants have until June 17 to present all relevant information related to the process of requesting a pass.

Disaster Passes are issued to the following crucial disaster relief organizations and are valid for three years. The disaster relief organization consists of the following: Emergency Operations Center staff, Emergency Support Services staff, Crucial governmental organizations, and entities involved in disaster management such as medical institutions, general practitioners and pharmacies, Red Cross, WIEMS, White & Yellow Cross, National Security Service VDSM, Sea Rescue, Shelter Management, Ministers and their drivers.

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St Maarten Hurricane Season 2022

The following categories qualify for a Hurricane Pass which is valid for two-years: Essential Government personnel without a disaster pass; Essential personnel of crucial companies or organizations: NV GEBE, Seven Seas Water, Telecom and Internet providers, Princess Juliana International Airport, Port St. Maarten, Hotels and Guesthouses, Marinas, Fuel distributors and gas stations, Commercial banks, Security companies (supervisors only), Medium and large sized supermarkets, Restaurants (those providing food services to emergency services), Importers and Wholesale Companies for perishable goods (Only requests can be submitted for refrigeration and or generator technicians).

The crucial organizations as listed above (disaster & hurricane passes) can request personal passes for their key personnel.

St Maarten Hurricane Season 2022

The Office of Disaster Management that falls under the Ministry of General Affairs is handling the application process for the passes on behalf of the Prime Minister.

The Hurricane Pass is valid for the 2022 and 2023 hurricane seasons and will remain the property of the Government of Sint Maarten.
Please note that company passes will be accepted during curfew hours from the following institutions: Sint Maarten Medical Center, and White & Yellow Cross Foundation.

The pass system is a mechanism to maintain public order during emergency situations. The Prime Minister assesses the damage in conjunction with Emergency Disaster Management entities of the Government after a disaster has occurred and can impose a curfew if the extent of the damage poses a threat to the safety and security of the community.

St Maarten Hurricane Season 2022

An application form can be requested by sending an email to: [email protected] Emails should include the following: Name of business or organization; Request for disaster or hurricane pass.

When submitting the application, the following documents need to be attached:

copy business license fee paid (or receipt) for 2022.
proof of 2022 registration at the Chamber of Commerce.
copy valid Sint Maarten ID-card of applicant.
Nafl. 50,- in leges stamps per application (to be obtained at the Receiver’s Office or the Simpson Bay Public Service Center), this is a non-refundable handling fee;
One (1) passport picture for new applicants, to be sent in JPEG-format to [email protected] with the name of the person clearly indicated.

The application form has to be completed and submitted to the offices of the Fire Department & Disaster Management, to the attention of the secretary located at Jackal Road 5 (Office hours Monday-Friday 9.00AM to 4.00PM), Cay Hill, by June 17, 2022, with all necessary documents attached.

Applicants will be informed by email or telephone when to pick up the pass at the aforementioned address.

St Maarten Hurricane Season 2022

ODM advises residents to start preparing for 2022 Atlantic hurricane season

The Office of Disaster Management which falls under the Fire Department (Ministry of General Affairs) headed by Fire Chief/Disaster Coordinator Clive Richardson, is calling on residents to start preparing for the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season.

The Colorado State University (CSU) Department of Atmospheric Science said early April in its preliminary forecast, that the hurricane season will see above-normal activity.

St Maarten Hurricane Season 2022

The number of named storms forecasted by the CSU based on their April 7, 2022, forecast is: 19 named storms; of which nine (9) could become hurricanes; and of those nine, four (4) could become major hurricanes of Category 3+.

The community is urged to learn more about hurricane hazards and how to prepare for a storm/hurricane strike by visiting the Government website: www.sintmaartengov.org/hurricane where you will be able to download your “Hurricane Season Readiness Guide’ and “Hurricane Tracking Chart.”

St Maarten Hurricane Season 2022

Disaster Coordinator Richardson is also calling on the business community to review their plans for the upcoming season and to be ready to act when the need arises – storm ready!

The storm names for the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season are:
Alex, Bonnie, Colin, Danielle, Earl, Fiona, Gaston, Hermine, Ian, Julia, Karl, Lisa, Martin, Nicole, Owen, Paula, Richard, Shary, Tobias, Virginie, and Walter.

Listen to the Government Radio station – 107.9FM – for official information and news before, during and after a hurricane.

For official weather-related information, check out the website of the Meteorological Department of St. Maarten (MDS): www.meteosxm.com

Remember, it only takes one hurricane to make it a bad season. Be prepared this hurricane season!

St Maarten Hurricane 2021 Season has arrived early. Here is the latest:

** ODM advises residents to start preparing for active 2021 Atlantic hurricane season **

The Colorado State University (CSU) Department of Atmospheric Science said early April in its first extended range forecast, hurricane researchers are predicting an above-average Atlantic hurricane season in 2021, citing the likely absence of El Niño as a primary factor.

“Tropical Atlantic sea surface temperatures are near their long-term averages, while subtropical Atlantic sea surface temperatures are much warmer than their long-term average values. The warmer subtropical Atlantic also favors an active 2021 Atlantic hurricane season,” the CSU said.

St Maarten Hurricane

The number of named storms forecasted by the CSU based on their April 8, 2021 forecast are: 17 named storms; of which eight (8) could become hurricanes; and of those eight, four (4) could become major hurricanes of Category 3+.

St Maarten Hurricane Season 2022

Disaster Coordinator Richardson is also calling on the business community to review their plans for the upcoming season and be ready to act when the need arises – storm ready!

The storm names for the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season are: Ana, Bill, Claudette, Danny, Elsa, Fred, Grace, Henri, Ida, Julian, Kate, Larry, Mindy, Nicholas, Odette, Peter, Rose, Sam, Teresa, Victor and Wanda.

Listen to the Government Radio station – 107.9FM – for official information and news before, during and after a hurricane.

St Maarten Hurricane

For official weather-related information, check out the website of the Meteorological Department of St. Maarten (MDS): www.meteosxm.com

Remember, it only takes one hurricane to make it a bad season. Be prepared this hurricane season!

** ODM advises residents to start preparing for active 2021 Atlantic hurricane season **

St Maarten Hurricane

Disaster Coordinator Richardson is also calling on the business community to review their plans for the upcoming season and be ready to act when the need arises – storm ready!

Listen to the Government Radio station – 107.9FM – for official information and news before, during and after a hurricane.

For official weather-related information, check out the website of the Meteorological Department of St. Maarten (MDS): www.meteosxm.com

Remember, it only takes one hurricane to make it a bad season. Be prepared this hurricane season!

St Maarten Hurricane

https://www.sxmgovernment.com

St Maarten Hurricane Season 2022

atlantic-hurricane-season-2022-forecast-temperature-anomaly

Often our eyes are watching the weather in western Africa. That is where the tropical waves emerge into the eastern Atlantic Ocean. Nearly 85% of these waves lead to organized deep convection over the warmer oceans and become tropical depressions or storms.

Winds are forecast to be strong in western Africa again this year, so expectations are we will see a number of tropical waves traveling west.

St Maarten Hurricane Season 2022

LA NINA WILL LEAD THE PEAK MONTHS OF THE ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON 2022

We seriously cannot go by the Atlantic hurricane season when there is the La Nina global circulation in play. Its well-known influence leads to different atmospheric conditions. Normally boosting the activity and the number of tropical systems, including more intense, major hurricanes of a Category 3 or greater.

The following image below indicates the tendency for more hurricanes in the Atlantic Basin. This is because the vertical wind shear is lower and the atmosphere is more unstable. In contrast, there are fewer hurricane developments in the eastern Pacific region, as stronger wind shear is present.

St Maarten Hurricane Season 2022

atlantic-hurricane-season-2022-forecast-la-nina-influence

Starting from the basics, the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a region in the eastern tropical Pacific ocean. It alternates between cold and warm phases. The tropical trade winds (those are the easterly winds that circle the Earth near the equator) usually initiate or stop a certain phase, as they mix the ocean near-surface waters and alter the ocean currents.

The periodic cooling of the tropical eastern and central Pacific oceans is known as La Niña, occurring when sea surface temperatures are cooler than average by at least 0.5 °C.

St Maarten Hurricane Season 2022

atlantic-hurricane-season-2022-forecast-la-nina-el-nino-years

The opposite, the warm phase, is known as El Nino. Each of these two ENSO phases has a different influence on tropical weather and how it impacts the weather worldwide. Speaking of the influence on the Atlantic Basin hurricane season, La Nina is more often a booster, while El Nino keeps the activity lower than normal.

So, as we discussed in one of our recent articles in detail, the latest ocean temperature forecast for the Hurricane season shows the active cold anomalies in the ENSO region. So besides this, the other very important ingredient is the seawater temperature across the tropical Atlantic, the Caribbean region, and also the Gulf of Mexico.

The forecast calls for near to above-normal seawater temperatures from August to October 2022.

St Maarten Hurricane Season 2022

atlantic-hurricane-season-2022-forecast-anomaly-peak

The recent IRI forecast chart of the ENSO for 2022 hints that the cooler tropical Pacific will continue and strengthen through the summer, extending through the peak of the Hurricane Season.

With the most recent NOAA’s latest ENSO outlook, there are reduced odds of El Nino and increased odds of La Nina for the Atlantic hurricane season peak.

atlantic-hurricane-season-2022-forecast-enso

Having colder than normal central Pacific waters as we see below, typically means that the Atlantic hurricane season becomes active, potentially even very active. Let’s not forget the 2020 and 2021 seasons again.

Those were the textbook years with a combination of strong La Nina (actually 2020 it was the strongest in the last 10 years) and very warm Atlantic sea temperatures throughout most of the hurricane season.

atlantic-hurricane-season-2022-forecast-iri-cpc

St Maarten Hurricane Season 2022

According to dr. Phil Klotzbach, the Colorado State University (CSU) predicts 19 named storms with the Atlantic hurricane season 2022. That is 32 percent (4.5 named storms) more than an average hurricane season. The climatology data takes the period between 1991 and 2020.

Basically, all the parameters that are typically monitored during the hurricane season are likely to be much above average again this year. CSU predicts about 90 named storm days (30 % above average), 9 hurricanes (25 % above average), and 4 major hurricanes (25 % above average). The Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) could reach 160 which is 30 % above the normal for the 1991-2020 period.

atlantic-hurricane-season-2022-forecast-klotzbach-outlook

St Maarten Hurricane Season 2022

As we can see, the group of forecasters, led by dr. Klotzbach is again forecasting a very serious outcome of the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season, similar we could see and also verify in the recent two seasons. So residents of the coastal areas should always be hurricane aware once we are past the official start on June 1st, no matter the forecast.

The recent ECMWF model forecast for Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) hints at an above-normal forecast for the Atlantic hurricane season. This could actually mean two possibilities: Either a higher number of generally intense tropical systems or a few major hurricanes that can quickly boost ACE.

St Maarten Hurricane Season 2022

atlantic-hurricane-season-2022-forecast-ace

As we learned, the Accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) is generally a metric that expresses the energy of a tropical cyclone during its lifetime. Thus, we can combine the total energy from all tropical systems to compare different seasons. It is then easier to see which has been more active. However, this does not tell us much when it comes to landfalls.

Statistical records do tell, that an Atlantic hurricane season with low total ACE can have 2-3 hurricane landfalls in the United States. But there could be a high-ACE hurricane season which includes a higher number of storms, but those could mainly stay out in the open waters. So there is no clear correlation.

To conclude, the lack of warmer central tropical Pacific waters is surely a great concern, as forecast numbers are calling for the well-above-average to potentially even extremely active Atlantic hurricane season 2022.

St Maarten Hurricane Season 2022

HURRICANE EMERGENCY KIT

Anyone living in the areas with the potential to get affected by hurricanes needs to have a so-called Hurricane Emergency Kit. Let’s see what you need to have in your plan. Everything that is needed if the event an emergency happens, can be packed up in what is called a go-bag. This includes nonperishable foods, water, flashlights, and batteries are the more obvious things.

But the first thing that goes in is the paperwork, e.g. personal ID, prescriptions, and titles to homes and cars. The list should also include a battery-powered radio, face masks, even a whistle to call for help, ponchos, and emergency blankets.

St Maarten Hurricane Season 2022

atlantic-hurricane-season-2022-forecast-fema-preparation

When we have a hurricane forecast to impact, there are multiple steps for those living in apartments can take in order to be prepared for when a hurricane strikes. Get to talk with building management about an evacuation plan. Those will tell you how to get out and where to go, this will save you time during an emergency.

When hurricane strikes occur, losing power and access to elevators brings issues, especially for high-rises. Therefore, we need to stock up with food and water for a few days. If you could not get out of the building, you have to be prepared. Also, have extra batteries for phones and electronics.

Higher buildings have another issue, that’s the intense winds. Bring outdoor furniture, be sure to lock your windows, and most importantly, stay away from windows. If your apartment is very near or below ground level, there is only one plan: get out and leave for higher ground. Storm surges will bring floods.