Mixed outlook for Jamaica as Tropical Storm Grace bears down on Cayman Islands
Gavin Riley / Our Today
administrator
The Jamaica Meteorological Service says that as Tropical Storm Grace continues to move away from Jamaica today (August 18), it expects weather conditions to gradually improve over the island, starting in eastern parishes.
The Met Service, in its 5:00 am Wednesday forecast, added that the tropical storm warning has been lifted, however, on recognition of a low-level jet stream, windy conditions will persist islandwide.
The government agency advised residents in Jamaica’s western parishes to anticipate mostly cloudy skies with lingering showers and gusty winds throughout today.
Tropical Storm Grace battered sections of the island in a nearly 15-hour onslaught before moving just west of Jamaica around 3:00 am local time.
The maximum temperature expected in major cities Kingston and Montego Bay is 33 degrees Celcius.
Breakdown of towns and cities forecast:
| Towns and Cities | Forecast |
| Morant Bay | Partly cloudy/Windy |
| Kingston | Partly cloudy/Windy |
| Half-Way-Tree | Partly cloudy/Windy |
| Portmore | Partly cloudy/Windy |
| Spanish Town | Partly cloudy/Windy |
| May Pen | Partly cloudy/Windy |
| Mandeville | Partly cloudy/Windy |
| Santa Cruz | Mostly cloudy morning/Partly cloudy afternoon/Windy |
| Black River | Mostly cloudy morning/Partly cloudy afternoon/Windy |
| Savanna-La-Mar | Mostly cloudy morning/Partly cloudy afternoon/Windy |
| Negril | Mostly cloudy morning/Partly cloudy afternoon/Windy |
| Port Antonio | Partly cloudy afternoon/Windy |
| Port Maria | Partly cloudy afternoon/Windy |
| Ocho Rios | Partly cloudy afternoon/Windy |
| St Ann’s Bay | Partly cloudy afternoon/Windy |
| Browns Town | Partly cloudy afternoon/Windy |
| Falmouth | Mostly cloudy morning/Partly cloudy afternoon/Windy |
| Montego Bay | Mostly cloudy morning/Partly cloudy afternoon/Windy |
| Lucea | Mostly cloudy morning/Partly cloudy afternoon/Windy |
Additionally, Jamaica Met Service is reminding fisherfolk and marine interests that a small craft warning remains in effect for inshore and offshore areas of the south coast and north coast due to strong winds and rough seas.
As at 8:00 am Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), the centre of Tropical Storm Grace was located near latitude 18.8 North, longitude 80.9 West—or roughly 30 kilometres southwest of Grand Cayman.
The system has shifted to a west-northwesterly track at 26 kilometres/hour and is packing maximum sustained winds at 100 kilometres/hour, with higher gusts.
Faced with torrential rains and fierce winds for the last several hours, the Cayman Islands becomes the second Caribbean territory to experience a direct hit from an intensifying Tropical Storm Grace.
Weather sleuths at the US-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) warn that conditions are ripe for Grace to further strengthen into a hurricane before slamming Mexico’s Caribbean coast. The NHC added that hurricane-force winds have been reported in Grand Cayman.
“Grace is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane later today, with some additional strengthening possible prior to the centre reaching the eastern Yucatán Peninsula,” the NHC advised.
A breakdown of active storm warnings associated with Tropical Storm Grace:
| Warning Type | Country/Region |
| Hurricane Warning | Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico from Cancún to Punta Herrero, including Cozumel island |
| Hurricane Watch | Cayman Islands |
| Tropical Storm Warning | Cayman Islands Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico from north of Cancún to Campeche Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico from south of Punta Herrero to Puerto Costa Maya |
| Tropical Storm Watch | Southern coast the Cuban province Pinar del Rio, as well as Isla de la Juventud |
The Cayman Islands is facing up to eight inches of rainfall, with isolated maximums near 12 inches from Tropical Storm Grace, as the territory could possibly be exposed to hurricane-force conditions at this time. According to the Cayman Compass, at least 52 power outages have been reported by the Caribbean Utilities Company as of 5:30 am.
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