Nov. 11, 2003 – The deluge continues in the Eastern Caribbean as an enormous tropical disturbance stretching some 800 miles north-south and 300 miles across chugs slowly north-northeast.
The storm has dumped vast amounts of rain on the Virgin Islands, particularly St. Croix. At Jolly Hill, in the St. Croix rainforest, 6.62 inches of rain fell in the last 12 hours ending Tuesday morning and 8.34 inches in the last 24 hours. The last five days saw 9.79 inches — flooding yards and roadways and dragging debris down from the rapidly eroding hillsides.
Measurements with the U.S. Department of Agriculture gauge show a total of 10.32 inches of rain fell in the last five days, with 9.18 inches falling in the last 24 hours and 7.66 inches in the last 12.
The gauge at Bonne Resolution, St. Thomas, recorded 1.07 inches in the same 12-hour period, 1.18 inches in the last 24 hours and 3.87 inches in the last five days.
At Guinea Gut, St. John, 1.14 inches fell in those 12 hours, 1.2 inches in the last 23 hours and 3.66 in the last five days.
Don't look for much sunshine until the end of the week, said meteorologist Brian Seeley at the National Weather Service in San Juan.
There will not be "any wholesale clearing until Thursday or Friday, but probably not until the weekend," he said.
The bulk of the rain should have fallen by Thursday, but the skies will still be overcast with scattered showers until at least the weekend.
Seeley said if the weather system does develop into a tropical depression or tropical storm, it will probably happen after it leaves the area.
The rains brought cooler temperatures, but Seeley doesn't think Tuesday's temperature would best the record low of 71 degrees Fahrenheit set in 1975.
He said residents across the Virgin Islands should watch out for flooding as well as rock and mud slides. Highway travel remains especially dangerous, with deep puddles and concealed, newly opened potholes menacing traffic.
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