An extremely wet tropical wave that passed over St. Croix for almost 24 hours flooded roads and kept all but essential government workers at home on Tuesday.
Government offices were closed as were all public and some private schools as flood warnings were issued by the National Weather Service. Many roads throughout St. Croix were flooded Tuesday morning making them impassable for school buses.
Hard hit was the Gallows Bay area where some 12 to 16 inches of water was reported, said Gene Walker, director of the V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency.
"Even though the worst is over, we’re still pending light and heavy showers," said Walker Tuesday afternoon. "We’re not out of the woods."
Longtime weather-watcher Fritz Lawaetz said the storm dropped varying amounts of rain on the island. By 7 a.m. Monday he said he had collected two inches of rain at his Annaly home. Not far away, however, he said some four inches had dropped.
"It’s been falling uneven over the island," he said. "It’s like a thunder cloud comes over and drops the rain and it’s gone."
Along with government offices, the classes at the University of the Virgin Islands St. Croix Campus were canceled. The second day of the government’s casino training school was also closed due to the weather.
Acting Tourism Commissioner Michael Bornn said one of the school’s orientation sessions that was scheduled for Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. has been rescheduled for Thursday at the same time. The orientation for Thursday evening will remain as scheduled, Bornn said.
Government offices and schools should be open on Wednesday as weather forecasts are calling for normal conditions to prevail.
