Danny was the wake up call for the “quiet” 2015 hurricane season. Soon after it rolled off the African coast, it was christened Danny and rapidly grew from a storm to a category 3 hurricane.
Forecasters never deviated from their predictions that Danny would eventually succumb to strong wind shear and weaken if not dissipate completely.
However, you can never be too careful when it comes to hurricane preparation – once it’s too late it really is too late. At one point, the eye was forecast to pass 6 miles south of Tortola and even though hurricane force winds were only extending out for 15 miles, this was a potential direct hit. Jeff Master of Weather Underground said: “Both upward and downward swings in intensity can be especially large and rapid with small hurricanes like Danny.”
So, Nanny Cay was a hive of activity late last week and over the weekend as everyone started to activate their hurricane action plans. The charter and yacht management companies stripped awnings and dodgers, lowered headsails and booms, lashed the lot to the decks, added extra mooring lines, threw out extra anchors, and built a spider web cross-tied boats.
The Nanny Cay team got busy with a lot of pruning, removing our land-side awnings, chaining the docks, dropping the large tent by the pool, removing the beach furniture, shuttering windows, adding more boats to the boatyard, and generally tidying the property.
But Danny died as quickly as it grew and was downgraded to a low pressure system with 30 mile per hour winds by mid-morning Monday (August 24).
Danny passed last night with barely a whimper. Gusts, thunder, and rain squalls dropping much needed rain for these parched islands.
Eyes are now on Erika as it develops halfway across the Atlantic. Current forecast (5am, August 25) has Erika’s eye going straight over Anegada with tropical storm force winds on Thursday evening.
The African hurricane train has left the station…
