Tropical Storm-Depression-Hurricane

[sptrout]

We're watching it because we're in the Houston area but it's not getting a lot of airtime yet. I usually don't get worried until the local emergency management authorities start talking about it.

The blob near the Yucatan will be in the GoM next week, but where it goes is wide open (Mexico to Florida). Regardless of where the center (if one develops) goes, it is expected to have a very large rain field. I live in Houston also so I always keep an eye on these things. Been through enough tropical weather events, not looking forward to the next one whenever that day may come. As for cruise ships from Galveston, they are headed straight towards it. Since the area of uncertainty is so large, I don't know where the various ship Captains will want to go the next two weeks. Not many choices out of Galveston. The next 5-10 days will be interesting.

[lbjen]

We're doing western Caribbean on Oasis out of PC. I know it would never happen but I can just imagine our cruise getting diverted to Galveston while our car gets left behind in PC!

[Clarea]

We're doing western Caribbean on Oasis out of PC. I know it would never happen but I can just imagine our cruise getting diverted to Galveston while our car gets left behind in PC!

I think it was Ike that diverted cruises from Galveston to New Orleans, and the cruise line provided transportation back to Galveston.

[sptrout]

I think it was Ike that diverted cruises from Galveston to New Orleans, and the cruise line provided transportation back to Galveston.

 

It was Hurricane Ike that caused extensive damage to Galveston, and to the Port, not to mention the entire greater Houston area. We live about 75 car miles north of Galveston (very close to IAH) and we were without power for 5 days and we were one of the lucky ones. BTW - - As I remember, most of the cars that were parked in the Cruise Terminal area were flooded and likely total losses.

[Snit13]

Thank you all so much! I've had rainy cruises before, and rough seas...but the "tropical storm," and "hurricane" thing scare me!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

I think you might be more concerned about tornadoes being from mid-west. Ship captains will not endanger their ship, crew, passengers. Not to worry.

[sptrout]

The latest from the NHC: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/gtwo.php?basin=atlc&fdays=5

 

It will be interesting where the departing ships from Galveston will be headed. I image that all the Galveston Ships leaving today and tomorrow will not be going to their previously planned destinations.

[CCC3]

I think you might be more concerned about tornadoes being from mid-west. Ship captains will not endanger their ship, crew, passengers. Not to worry.

 

 

As a native Kansan, I'm far more concerned with weather I don't know, than the weather I do know, and how it might/will affect my vacation starting tomorrow...but thank you.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[longashes]

The cruise lines make the most of their revenue in sunny skies (alcohol, ports, etc.). The captain will divert as much as possible to ensure everyone has a great time. I saw earlier today that Cozumel and Jamaica were in the 50% to 80% rain forecast, Caymans not as bad.

 

If the storm is bad in one of the ports, they may try to re-route to another port. There would be a mad dash to re-schedule excursions but that would be better for the cruise line than everyone cancelling and staying onboard.

 

We live in Houston as well - survived tropical storms, power outages up to 2 weeks, multiple hurricanes...besides, what's a small tropical depression among friends, right?

 

Looking forward to a great cruise regardless of the weather.

[Cozumel Parrot]

Any cruise ship is going to avoid sailing into a tropical storm or hurricane, but that does not mean that you will have either a smooth or dry cruise. The entire Gulf of Mexico could be one big tropical downpour next week. A little too early to tell the areas of main concern, but anywhere in the GoM, and later the eastern Caribbean, is at risk.

 

I am on the same cruise as the OP, and this would be SO hugely disappointing. I've only been on one cruise, in January 2014, and a big cold front barreled down from the north and made it all the way to the Caribbean, upshot was it was cloudy, cold and rainy for 6 of the 7 days. Cozumel and Belize were drenched, and they canceled Roatan because of choppy seas.

 

Everyone had encouraged me to go on a cruise because of all the fun in the sun, and I got none of it, $4,000 flushed down the drain and you don't get any kind of refund even though you had no fun and the same cruise the week before had perfect weather and a far better experience.

 

I was told then that it was just terrible luck, that a front like that happens once every five years, and not to get discouraged about cruising. I'm not worried about the captain sailing us into a hurricane, I know that won't happen, nor do i mind flash thunderstorms that drench you for an hour or two then clear up, but if the storm creates a blanket of never ending clouds and rain on our cruise route, it is going to be just the worst. What will they tell, me, you got ungodly bad luck twice? :(

[CCC3]

I'm trying to stay positive. Our first cruise rained at some point or another every day.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Cozumel Parrot]

I'm trying to stay positive. Our first cruise rained at some point or another every day.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Your are setting a good example! :D

 

I sure wouldn't mind rain *at some point* every day, as long as there are other times during the day when it's sunny. What I fear is what I got on my only other cruise - blanket of clouds/rain all day long.

[kearney]

Captains usually do a good job of keeping the ship out of a hurricane. I will say that the two times we were supposed to go to Grand Cayman there was a last minute change.... once it was because of a hurricane and the other was heavy winds. You tender to shore there so if the winds are strong, they likely will not go there. It has been a few years, I don't think they have a pier. Not sure if they will replace that stop with another... they did not do that for us... just a sea day.. I remember one cruise when we were being chased by hurricane Dennis.... we had to go around Cuba to head towards Miami.... when we woke up in the morning and checked the navigation channel on the TV, I swear we were going faster than the top speed the Captain had told us the ship could do. I speculated that they must have been throwing stuff off the ship to increase our speed. Well we successfully out ran the storm. And it made a good story. I have a tendency towards sea sickness... but had no problems on most of our stormy sailings..... We had a great time regardless of the weather... so much to do on the ship.

[TNcruising02]

I am cruising out of Galveston tomorrow. Every cruise I have been on up until now has had great weather. If the storm gets worse, I hope we get diverted to someplace sunny. My husband and I are determined to make the best of whatever happens. We might spend more time sampling new drinks, dancing at a club, or doing things indoors, but we will make it fun.

[Coralc]

I wonder if Royal Caribbean will activate or utilize their new meteorologist?

 

Link:

 

https://www.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com/video/919/keeping-an-eye-on-the-radar-royal-caribbean-signs-on-first-chief-meteorologist/

[dreadpirate3]

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

 

I dont think you have to worry. First a storm has to form off the coast of Africa. As it drifts west it picks up moisture from the warm ocean and starts to rotate. It is then a tropical depression. Then if the trade wins dont destroy it, it grows larger and becomes a tropical storm. When it gets strong enough with winds over 80 mph it becomes a hurricanre. The depression your hearing about is way out between here and Africa. Even if it formed it probably wouldnt effect you

 

I'm in Central Florida. I have experienced many severe storms that formed in the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. While most severe hurricanes do form off of the coast of Africa, not all do.

 

Watch the news, and watch your email and communication with the cruise line.

[CCC3]

I've not received any emails...yet.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[lbjen]

Check on Twitter. You might have to @ RC. But nobody seems to know where it's headed yet, so they'll probably just set sail tomorrow and then see what happens. It's unfortunate timing, because they have to sail tomorrow but are unable to make plans.

[BillB48]

I've not received any emails...yet.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

The area of disturbed weather presently is off of Belize and has a medium chance of development in the next 48hrs. according to the 2AM update from NOAA. There is no chance this will impact your departure. No doubt the ship will be monitoring it during the cruise and will adjust the itinerary if necessary. Go and enjoy:D!

[Cozumel Parrot]

It's 4:45 AM Galveston time and I haven't received any updates from RC either ... Have a 5-hour drive to get to Galveston so loading up the car. Fingers crossed ... :)

[waterbug123]

Hurricanes come into play when the maximum sustained winds go above 73mph.

 

Category 1 = 74 to 95

Category 2 = 96 to 110

Category 3 = 111 to 130

Category 4 = 131 to 155

Category 5 = 156 and up

 

And just to elaborate on the above, when the maximum sustained winds hit 39mph, that's when a tropical depression is now declared to be a tropical storm. If and when the max sustained winds reach 74mph, it becomes a hurricane. From there on, it's just a matter of how strong or what category hurricane it is, as listed above. Not all TD's become a TS, and not all TS's become a hurricane. Many fizzle out along the way. Then again, sometimes they weaken and look like they're going to fizzle out and then they strengthen again.

 

 

The good news for the OP is that unlike the tornadoes she is likely more familiar with, tropical weather comes with lots of advance notice, i.e. days and even weeks. Storms can be tracked, and it's relatively easy for ship captains to change course and avoid major storms. Occasionally this means delaying a departure, arriving back in port earlier or later than originally planned, changing the port itinerary, or skipping ports all together. None of that is ideal if you are counting on a particular island visit or itinerary, but safety is paramount.

[Homosassa]

I am on the west coast of Florida (one hour north of Tampa). Our local weather is predicting that we will probably have heavy rain showers on Monday-Wednesday as bands of rain come onshore from the low pressure area that is out in the Caribbean/Gulf.

 

Pack rain ponchos and umbrellas.

[CCC3]

And just to elaborate on the above, when the maximum sustained winds hit 39mph, that's when a tropical depression is now declared to be a tropical storm. If and when the max sustained winds reach 74mph, it becomes a hurricane. From there on, it's just a matter of how strong or what category hurricane it is, as listed above. Not all TD's become a TS, and not all TS's become a hurricane. Many fizzle out along the way. Then again, sometimes they weaken and look like they're going to fizzle out and then they strengthen again.

 

 

 

 

 

The good news for the OP is that unlike the tornadoes she is likely more familiar with, tropical weather comes with lots of advance notice, i.e. days and even weeks. Storms can be tracked, and it's relatively easy for ship captains to change course and avoid major storms. Occasionally this means delaying a departure, arriving back in port earlier or later than originally planned, changing the port itinerary, or skipping ports all together. None of that is ideal if you are counting on a particular island visit or itinerary, but safety is paramount.

 

 

Thank you! And I'm hoping for a dry, smooth & sunny week long adventure...wherever we may travel!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Cozumel Parrot]

Thank you! And I'm hoping for a dry, smooth & sunny week long adventure...wherever we may travel!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Hey CCC3! We got lucky, didn't we? Except for a slight bit of choppy seas Monday night, and some pouring rain for an hour or two on Cozumel, the threatened storm didn't bother us and the cruise was pretty spectacular! The captain did a GREAT job of decision making (no cancelled ports) and navigating (we had GREAT weather all 4 "sea days").

 

I had a wonderful time on this cruise, enjoyed all the ports and the great on-deck weather, and was blown away by the shows (the Ice Show, the Cirque du Soleil duplicate, and the Saturday Night Fever show were spectacular!) and the activity on the Promenade.

 

Yes, RC relentlessly tries to charge for and upsell everything, but I ignored that and the cruise was amazing.

 

Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! :D:D:D

[Atascocita Mom]

No problem. As an Ohio transplant to Florida, it was quite a change for me as well.

 

I'll tell you this... a tropical depression isn't even close to being as scary as some heavy Midwest Thunder Boomer storms with their crazy lightning and tornado potential. Don't even worry until it becomes a strong Tropical Storm.

 

TD and light TS aren't much to write home about.

 

I can tell you that most Floridians don't even start pillaging the grocery stores and emptying the gas stations until it hits a borderline Cat 2/Cat 3 Hurricane. One year they didn't even cancel MOST of the schools for a Cat 1 that was heading our way. I think a few on the direct coast did, but I'm only 40-ish miles inland and life was business as usual for us.

 

This is the attitude that got so many folks in trouble for Ike. TS Allison, dropped heavy rainfall along its path, peaking at over 40 inches (1,000 mm) in Texas. The worst flooding occurred in Houston where most of Allison's damage occurred: 30,000 became homeless after the storm flooded over 70,000 houses and destroyed 2,744 homes. Downtown Houston was inundated with flooding, causing severe damage to hospitals and businesses. Twenty-three people died in Texas. Along its entire path, Allison caused $9 billion (2001 USD) in damage and 41 deaths.

Hurricane Ike, a category 2 when it hit Galveston, killing over 100 people.Due to its immense size, Ike caused devastation from the Louisiana coastline all the way to the Kenedy County region near Corpus Christi, Texas. In addition, Ike caused flooding and significant damage along the Mississippi coastline and the Florida Panhandle. Damages from Ike in U.S. coastal and inland areas are estimated at $29.5 billion.

Category and TD, TS designation only focus on sustained wind speed. They speak nothing to the physical size of the storm or the damage they can do. Each storm is different.

[poncho1973]

This is the attitude that got so many folks in trouble for Ike. TS Allison, dropped heavy rainfall along its path, peaking at over 40 inches (1,000 mm) in Texas. The worst flooding occurred in Houston where most of Allison's damage occurred: 30,000 became homeless after the storm flooded over 70,000 houses and destroyed 2,744 homes. Downtown Houston was inundated with flooding, causing severe damage to hospitals and businesses. Twenty-three people died in Texas. Along its entire path, Allison caused $9 billion (2001 USD) in damage and 41 deaths.

Hurricane Ike, a category 2 when it hit Galveston, killing over 100 people.Due to its immense size, Ike caused devastation from the Louisiana coastline all the way to the Kenedy County region near Corpus Christi, Texas. In addition, Ike caused flooding and significant damage along the Mississippi coastline and the Florida Panhandle. Damages from Ike in U.S. coastal and inland areas are estimated at $29.5 billion.

Category and TD, TS designation only focus on sustained wind speed. They speak nothing to the physical size of the storm or the damage they can do. Each storm is different.

 

I did also say in another post in a similar thread (I actually thought it was this thread, but it wasn't) that the thing you had to worry about was when they stall and dump buttloads of rain on you.

 

But the winds of a TD or a small TS are laughable.