Tropical Storm Emily: ‘Unpredictable’, Timeshare Owners Wary
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Though Tropical Storm Emily continues to menace the Caribbean Islands, Florida timeshare owners are relieved to escape the brunt of this storm.
Many Florida timeshare owners breathed a sigh of relief yesterday as they heard that Hurricane Emily had been downgraded to a tropical storm, and that her present course will steer this hurricane towards the southern portion of the Caribbean Sea.
This change is partly due to a semi-permanent area of high pressure known as the Bermuda High. At his time of year, it can usually be found over Bermuda, hence the name. This high-pressure zone, if it is particularly strong, can drive hurricanes toward the continental US. This year, a weak Bermuda high has pushed Tropical Storm Emily south, and Florida homeowners and vacationers alike are quick to show their relief.
However, Tropical Storm Emily, while no longer a hurricane, can pack “hurricane conditions“, making those who own timeshare in the Caribbean Islands extremely nervous. The projected course of this hurricane, at the time of this writing, takes it across the central Caribbean, possibly ending up near the coast of Venezuela later this week. Earlier, a hurricane watch was in effect for Barbados, Grenada, The Grenadines, St. Vincent, and St. Lucia. Reports from Barbados indicate that Emily has dumped a large amount of rain on the island, but has caused comparatively little damage. Because of its erratic path and changes in intensity, this storm has been described as “unpredictable”.
At 3:35PM local time, Tropical Storm Emily was estimated to be about 175 km off the coast of Trinidad. People all over the Caribbean coast and the Gulf of Mexico will be following this storm with interest. As tropical storms in the Caribbean have been known to cause significant loss of life, our hopes and prayers go out to those living in the path of these storms.
For the latest news on storm conditions in the Caribbean, visit Caribbean-On-Line.