Numerous positive reports continue to come in from the U.S. Virgin Islands as telephone communications remain intact throughout the night and today. St. Thomas and St. John are experiencing some wind gusts and rain, while St. Croix didn't experience any tropical storm effects.
Acting Commissioner of Tourism Michael Bornn said, "We were fortunate to have escaped the storm. By the time Jose was getting near us, it had been significantly downgraded. I was in my office all day yesterday and am again here today . . . we prepared for the worst, but luckily, did not experience any hurricane-force storm effects."
The power was voluntarily turned off during the night by the government as a precautionary measure. When asked how the weather was now, a St. Thomian reported that is was just a rainy October day.
Richard Doumeng, president of the St. Thomas-St. John Hotel and Tourism Association, said, "Literally, not a palm frond was on the ground as I traveled to work this morning. This is the biggest fire drill that we've had in my lifetime. We are indeed thankful that the storm did not hit us, but it's now time to get back to business as usual."
Reports from St. Croix were even better. "We are fine . . . things look great and we received no ill effects of the tropical storm," said Peter Ross, president of the St. Croix Hotel and Tourism Association. "St. Croix was lucky on this one, we wouldn't have even known there was a storm nearby if we hadn't heard about it on the news. Christiansted, King's Alley and the rest of the island look great and we are continuing with our daily activities as usual."
Peter Locke of St. Croix's Chenay Bay Beach Resort said, "This was much ado about nothing . . . thankfully. Most of my guests elected to stay here when they heard reports of a possible storm. When we met for breakfast this morning, the visitors all told me they were glad they didn't listen to the pessimistic reports and are very happy to have stayed here on St. Croix."
"We know that we dodged a bullet on this one," said Acting Commissioner Michael Bornn, "and we are thankful. We look forward to serving our guests that are with us today, and welcoming our new visitors who will fly in tomorrow. St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas are green, lush, beautiful – and, of course, blessed. We want to thank people for their calls of concern. The USVI is fine, and we'd like the media to truthfully report that we are fine."
According the National Weather Service, Jose has been downgraded to a tropical storm this morning as the storm moves northward into the Atlantic.
