West Bay is a district located on the west side of the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean . The population is 15,335.
77-465: The Cayman Turtle Centre is a conservation facility and tourist attraction located in the district of West Bay in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands . First established in 1968 as "Mariculture Ltd" and later called "Cayman Turtle Farm" by a group of American and British investors, the facility was initially used to breed the endangered green sea turtle for commercial purposes. By raising the turtles in
154-644: A cold front the following day. Hurricane Michelle caused widespread devastation across the western Caribbean during its eight-day trek. As a tropical wave, torrential rainfall occurred across Jamaica , causing mudslides and killing two people. Damage in the island country was estimated at $ 18 million. When the storm drifted over areas of Central America early in its existence, heavy rains isolated numerous villages and damaged infrastructure, affecting areas affected by Hurricane Mitch roughly three years prior. In Honduras and Nicaragua, 14 people were killed, with an additional 62 people unaccounted for. In
231-590: A hurricane watch for the western Cuban provinces of Pinar del Río , La Habana , Matanzas , and Isla de la Juventud at 2100 UTC on November 1. The following day, the same hurricane watch was extended eastward to include all provinces from Pinar del Río to Ciego de Ávila ; all hurricane watches in Cuba were upgraded to hurricane warnings at 1100 UTC on November 3. All warnings in Cuba were discontinued once Michelle began to accelerate out to sea at 1200 UTC on November 5. Prior to reaching
308-450: A reconnaissance flight confirmed the development of a tropical depression 40 mi (64 km) south-southwest of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua . At the time, convection was displaced primarily to the north of the center of circulation, and the storm was situated in a weak steering pattern; as such, initial forecasts predicted for the depression, designated as Tropical Depression Fifteen , to slowly move generally northward. Later that day,
385-411: A state of emergency for five departments – Colón , Atlántida , Yoro , Cortés , and Santa Bárbara . The floods caused by Michelle were further exacerbated by a cold front which lingered over the region, dropping additional rainfall. Of the affected departments, Yoro was the most affected, with no supply of drinkable water and electricity following the flooding. Near Yoro, a bridge crossing
462-579: A tropical storm watch was issued for Grand Cayman Island . Three hours prior, the National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm warning in conjunction with a hurricane watch for areas of the Florida Keys from Ocean Reef, Florida to the Dry Tortugas . At 0300 UTC on November 4, a hurricane watch was issued for areas of the northwestern and central Bahamas. At the same time,
539-495: A Category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 mph (230 km/h); this was followed shortly after with a landfall on the Bay of Pigs five hours later as a slightly weaker storm. When Michelle made landfall on the Cuban mainland, it was the strongest landfalling hurricane in Cuban history since the landfall of Hurricane Fox in 1952 . At the time, the hurricane's minimum barometric pressure
616-541: A burst of convection occurred over the circulation center of the depression, indicating an increase in organization. The disturbance meandered over eastern Nicaragua for 36 hours before emerging into the Caribbean Sea near Cabo Gracias a Dios by 2100 UTC on October 31. Upon emerging into the Caribbean Sea, the depression quickly organized, and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) upgraded
693-648: A farming operation, the turtle meat could be produced for local consumption without depleting the wild population of the species. Although still in operation as a farm for raising turtles in order to sell product, the Cayman Turtle Centre has been developed into an important research project and conservation facility. It is now also the largest land-based tourist attraction in the Cayman Islands and welcomes more than 500,000 visitors annually. While on his maritime travels, Christopher Columbus , when coming across
770-506: A high of 181 green sea turtle nests in 2012. Sightings of "living-tagged" nesting turtles have confirmed that some of these nests were laid by turtles released from Cayman Turtle Centre. West Bay, Cayman Islands West Bay is a residential area located north of Grand Cayman's tourist-popular Seven Mile Beach . It is also a tourist area with destinations such as Hell , Cayman Turtle Farm , Cayman Motor Museum , and Dolphin Adventure. It
847-512: A new tropical storm warning was issued for the east coast of Florida between Jupiter Inlet and Ocean Reef, and for the state's western coast south of Bonita Beach . At 0600 UTC, the tropical storm watch for Grand Cayman was upgraded and extended to include the entirety of the Cayman Islands . Six hours later, the hurricane watch for the Florida Keys was upgraded to warning status. Early
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#1732855640829924-432: A peak wind gust of 40 mph (64 km/h). Overall, damage from the Cayman Islands totaled $ 60 million. In Cuba , about 750,000 people and 741,000 animals were evacuated prior to the hurricane's arrival. Hurricane Michelle quickly crossed the island as a Category 4 hurricane, the strongest since 1952's Hurricane Fox. To the south of Cuba, Cayo Largo del Sur received a 9–10 foot storm surge, inundating
1001-405: A predator tank where reef sharks would habitate. Visitors were still allowed entry to the areas around the turtle breeding and feeding tanks. In 2010 the facility changed its name from "Boatswain's Beach" to "Cayman Turtle Centre: Island Wildlife Encounter" and in 2012 it added a water slide feature to its fresh water lagoon. The Cayman Turtle Centre is the only facility of its kind in the world. It
1078-485: A slight fluctuation in strength, Michelle reached its peak intensity as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 mph (230 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 933 mbar (933 hPa; 27.6 inHg). This tied Michelle with 1999's Lenny as the fourth most powerful November hurricane on record in the Atlantic Basin, behind only the 1932 Cuba hurricane and 2020 Hurricanes Iota and Eta . At roughly
1155-569: A small area of sugar cane was leveled by the tornado. Damages from the tornado amounted to $ 10,000. A NOAA WP-3D Orion hurricane hunter aircraft was damaged during a mission into the storm. Because Hurricane Michelle was weakened and moving rapidly as it moved through the Bahamas, no deaths or injuries were reported. The hurricane still retained some of its strength, and caused 12.64 inches (321 mm) of rain in Nassau , while New Providence received
1232-603: A storm surge of 5–8 feet. Flooding was reported throughout the archipelago and high winds downed numerous trees, resulting in 200,000 power outages. A few homes sustained roof damage and the roof a shopping center in Nassau was blown into a nearby funeral home. The radio tower of the station MORE FM was snapped in half by high winds, resulting in a severe disruption of radio broadcasts. Ships carrying tons of frozen chicken legs and corn arrived in Havana's harbor on December 16, to aid in
1309-509: A substantial investment of cash. With potential new investors finally unconvinced that Mariculture would be able to sell its products internationally, Citibank and CDFC placed it in receivership in May 1975, and financed its operations until the Mittag family of Dusseldorf, along with CDFC, bought the assets and re-capitalised them as "Cayman Turtle Farm Ltd" in early 1976. Subsequently, as a goodwill gesture,
1386-452: A ten-day period throughout Michelle's passage near Jamaica. Near Spur Tree Hill, an oil spill resulted from the flooding. Roads that were previously cleaned of debris a few days prior were covered again by the additional rainfall. The rains also disrupted the country's communication and electrical grid, leaving 6,000 homes without power in affected regions. The widespread power outages in conjunction with invasive floodwaters also caused
1463-410: A tropical depression, Michelle drifted over areas of Central America for roughly 36 hours, dropping torrential rainfall and causing widespread flooding in areas affected by Hurricane Mitch almost exactly three years prior. The hardest hit region was Gracias a Dios Department in northeastern Honduras, where at one point 100 villages were isolated by the floods. The torrential rainfall caused
1540-559: A way of survival and means of income in the Caymans. By the 19th century, however, the turtle population around the islands was near depleted and commerce centred on the green sea turtle shifted to the Caribbean off the coast of Nicaragua in Central America . During the 20th century, turtles were still caught and used for their meat in the Caymans. However, the depletion of the species around
1617-432: Is 23 acres and featured predators, birds, caiman, and other creatures in addition to turtles. In 2001, however, a severe setback to the success of the centre as an attraction and breeding and research facility located next to the sea occurred on November 4, 2001, when large waves generated by Hurricane Michelle inundated the facility. The hurricane was located 90 miles southwest of Grand Cayman and produced little wind, but
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#17328556408291694-445: Is also the only facility to have achieved the second generation of sea turtles bred in captivity. It was also the first facility to successfully breed the endangered Kemp's Ridley turtle in captivity. Approximately 100 scientific papers have been presented or published based on work in collaboration with researchers at Cayman Turtle Centre. The largest turtle at the facility is Sparky, a 70-year-old female that weighs about 550 pounds. In
1771-659: Is home to the Scholars International football club. West Bay features a public beach, complete with changing rooms and bathrooms available to the public. The beach is popular because of its proximity to the restaurants in Grand Cayman . This is the location that many watched the sinking of the USS Kittiwake in 2011. West Bay is one of the two largest electoral districts on Grand Cayman, along with George Town . The politics of West Bay are dominated by former members of
1848-401: The Cayman Islands , areas were affected by strong storm surge and flooding, particularly in Grand Cayman , where damage was totaled $ 28 million. The majority of damage caused by Michelle occurred in Cuba, where the storm was the strongest tropical cyclone to make landfall on the island in over 49 years . Strong storm surge and heavy rainfall disrupted communication networks across
1925-491: The Cayman Islands . Of the islands in the archipelago, Grand Cayman experienced the worst effects from Michelle, particularly along the island's west coast. Rainfall peaked at 6.52 in (166 mm) in Grand Cayman; the same station recorded a peak wind gust of 44 mph (71 km/h). The rains caused localized flooding in the western and southern portions of the island. Another weather station in Cayman Brac observed
2002-510: The Cuyamapa River collapsed due to the floodwaters. Despite the heavy rainfall, areas of Honduras suffering from a prolonged drought did not receive beneficial rainfall. Overall, the floods in Honduras killed 21 people and caused $ 5 million in damage. Thirty-five of the country's water systems were destroyed. The rains also caused the loss of 70 percent of bean crops. Although
2079-577: The House of Commons , Early Day Motion (EDM) 612 from 2012, entitled "Cayman Turtle Centre" calls on the UK Government to condemn the practices of producing turtle meat for consumption and help assist the Centre in moving towards practices that promote the protection of turtles instead. The captive breeding programme at the Cayman Turtle Centre has long-since attracted criticism from conservation groups who claim that
2156-455: The Spanish and Swift Rivers were the worst affected areas. Near the coast, the rivers began to overflow due to excess floodwater, eroding beach roads and three major highways. In Portland Parish, the rains caused numerous landslides. In the community of Bybrook alone, it was estimated that roughly 7,000,000 cu ft (200,000 m ) of material was deposited in the village. An assessment of
2233-497: The Zapata Peninsula . On Cuba's southwestern islands including Cayo Largo and Isla de la Juventud, 500 tourists were evacuated. The entire population of Surgidero de Batabanó was evacuated. In addition to the evacuations, the government sent food, water, and medicine supplies to areas south of the capital. All domestic and international flights to and from the country were cancelled. At 1700 UTC on November 1,
2310-563: The "bred in captivity" ruling of the 1979 CITES conference in Costa Rica, challenging the Farm's captive breeding status. A dialogue with the Cayman Government about the future commenced in 1980, and the turtle herds were slimmed down by a substantial release programme and culling, as a means of cutting costs whilst retaining the essence of the Farm. Eventually, after an eighteen month negotiation,
2387-566: The 2000s, the Cayman Turtle Centre has come under attack from animal welfare and conservation groups who claim the Centre is failing to meet the welfare needs of the animals in its care and poses a threat to wild turtle conservation. International animal protection group, the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) cites poor water quality, overcrowding, unsupervised human handling, heightened levels of disease and congenital defects amongst
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2464-444: The Cayman Islands in 1503, called the islands "Las Tortugas", because of the abundance of green sea turtles found there. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Cayman Islands became a stopping point for sea vessels sailing the Caribbean Sea in need of food; the turtles caught in the Caymans were taken aboard ship and kept alive as a source of fresh meat. As settlements and towns on the islands were established over time, "turtling" became
2541-484: The Centre in December 2012 concluded that the Centre had a "positive conservation impact" because it provided turtle meat to local consumers thus alleviating poaching of the wild population, it augmented the local turtle nesting population through past turtle releases, it enabled applied research of the animals over four decades, and it increased awareness of marine turtle conservation. In addition to claims of animal cruelty,
2618-488: The Environment has released data showing that turtles released as hatchlings or yearlings from Cayman Turtle Centre decades ago, are becoming sexually mature and are returning as adults to nest on Grand Cayman's beaches. Between 1999 and 2003, the mean annual number of green sea turtle nests in Grand Cayman was 16.4. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of green sea turtle nests on the island in recent years, reaching
2695-517: The Farm was sold on to the Cayman Government in April 1983 and re-named "Cayman Turtle Farm (1983) Ltd". Its overseas markets had finally closed, but the sale was effected without financial loss to any party except shareholders, and within five years the slimmed down farm - now reliant on tourist visitors - was generating a cash surplus (see"Financing the Cayman Turtle 1968 to 1988" (Amazon.com). In 2010,
2772-553: The NHC upgraded Michelle to hurricane intensity at 1200 UTC that day, while the storm was situated 290 mi (470 km) south-southeast of the Guanahacabibes Peninsula . A period of rapid intensification began shortly after as Michelle's satellite presentation improved, with the cyclone's minimum barometric pressure falling 51 mbar (51 hPa; 1.5 inHg) in 29 hours. At 0000 UTC on November 3,
2849-575: The allegations of cruelty and congenital defects, and stands by its claim to have released 31,000 green sea turtles into the wild since it was first established. WSPA has stated that on average, the centre has only released 27 turtles per year since 2007. The Cayman Turtle Centre has confirmed that after Hurricane Michelle wiped out 75 per cent of its breeding population, the centre cut back the number of releases annually, but as stocks rebuild its recent releases have been increasing, with 75 turtles released in 2011 and 150 in 2012. The Cayman Islands Department of
2926-467: The beaches was estimated at $ 10 million. The highest winds in relation to the storm were recorded in Sombrero Key ; sustained winds reached 49 mph (79 km/h) and gusts reached 60 mph (97 km/h). A storm surge of 1 to 2 ft (0.30 to 0.61 m) was recorded along the southeast coastline of Florida. Damages from the hurricane amounted to $ 50,000. Two tornadoes touched down in
3003-474: The captive bred creatures. Joined in support by the Sea Turtle Conservancy, the world's oldest turtle conservation group, WSPA has launched a campaign to stop the Cayman Turtle Centre from breeding sea turtles for human consumption. Sir Paul McCartney, former member of The Beatles has supported the campaign and urged the Centre to shift towards a more humane, sustainable and profitable alternative. In
3080-419: The centre runs the risk of introducing infectious diseases into the wild by releasing turtles that have been bred in captive conditions. Experts also claim that programmes of this kind fail to address the root causes of turtle decline and efforts would be better spent tackling illegal poaching – a problem that still continues in the Cayman Islands. However a panel of four international turtle experts that inspected
3157-496: The centre's business model has come under scrutiny for being uneconomical. According to WSPA, the Cayman Turtle Centre is making an average loss of over nine million Cayman dollars (approximately $ 10,976,000 US dollars) a year over the past five years and represents a huge burden for the tax payer. In April 2013 the Cayman Turtle Centre released data showing however that there are several positive indicators in its financial performance in recent years. The Cayman Turtle Centre has denied
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3234-965: The cessation of 31 water plants run by the National Water Commission. Overall, 30 homes were destroyed by flooding caused by Michelle as it passed to the northwest. Extensive damage was reported to small livestock, bananas, plantains, vegetables, and coffee. Coffee crops were severely affected in Portland and Saint Andrew Parishes, with losses calculated at J$ 102.6 million (US$ 2.2 million). Roughly 400 acres (160 hectares) of banana plantations were damaged over four parishes, amounting to J$ 18.2 million (US$ 400,000) in damage. The plantain crop, mostly grown for domestic usage, suffered extensive damage valued at J$ 22 million (US$ 480,000). Losses sustained to livestock were estimated at J$ 30.8 million (US$ 670,000). Overall, floods caused widespread damage throughout Jamaica. The watersheds of
3311-585: The coast, Michelle was expected to be the strongest Cuban tropical cyclone in at least 75 years. The Cuban Red Cross deployed 24,500 volunteers across Cuba to assist civil defense teams in evacuation procedures for potentially affected populations. By November 4, an estimated 590,000 people were evacuated across the country, including 80 percent of the population of the province of Pinar del Río. In Havana , authorities evacuated 150,000 people. Coastal tourist resorts were cleared, and 35,500 students were evacuated out of camps hosted on
3388-443: The communist-controlled island. But until now the Cuban government has refused to buy American food because of the restrictions, including a ban on direct U.S. financing of food sales. Other aid from the international community is helping Cuba survive Michelle's aftermath. Cuba was promised $ 600,000 in aid from Chinese leader Li Peng, who was visiting when the hurricane struck. Venezuela also sent humanitarian assistance. Because of
3465-451: The conservative Cayman Democratic Party . The Cayman Islands Former Premier , McKeeva Bush , was elected from the West Bay district. The Cayman Islands Education Department operates John A. Cumber Primary School, located in West Bay. This Cayman Islands location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Hurricane Michelle Hurricane Michelle was
3542-435: The country. High winds and rain also destroyed buildings and damaged the sugar cane crop. At the time, Michelle was the costliest hurricane in Cuban history with an estimated $ 2 billion in damage; this figure was greatly surpassed by Hurricane Ike nearly seven years later. As a weakening system, Michelle moved past Florida and the Bahamas. Strong waves caused severe beach erosion and winds damaged property. Throughout
3619-604: The damage concluded that 500 homes were destroyed beyond repair, while an additional 561 homes were at least damaged by the floods and heavy rain. While one school was damaged solely by the floods, six other schools were damaged due to their use as shelters. Damage on Jamaica due to Michelle totaled $ 18 million, of which $ 11.8 million was due to crop and livestock losses. Damage to bridges alone totaled J$ 143.7 million (US$ 3.1 million). Five fatalities were also confirmed, and 340 people were displaced from their homes. In its early developmental stages as
3696-469: The depression meandered over Nicaragua , later paralleling the Mosquito Coast before intensifying into tropical storm intensity on November 1; Michelle was upgraded to hurricane strength the following day. Shortly after, rapid intensification ensued within favorable conditions, with the storm's central barometric pressure dropping 51 mbar (51 hPa; 1.5 inHg) in 29 hours. After
3773-400: The depression to tropical storm strength at 0000 UTC the following day, based on information from a reconnaissance flight prior. As such, the tropical storm was designated with the name Michelle . Gradual strengthening occurred throughout November 1, as Michelle's cloud tops began to cool as it drifted northward, signifying strengthening. At the time, the NHC predicted that there
3850-418: The displacement of at least 100,000 people from their residences. Across Central America, over 27,300 people were evacuated from flooded areas. In Honduras, the floods damaged 245 homes, resulting in the displacement of 4,393 people across the country. Six bridges sustained at least partial damage, of which three were destroyed. As a result of the damage, the government of Honduras declared
3927-484: The entire island with water. Closer to Cuba, the Isle of Youth experienced 11.83 inches (300 mm) of rain with 15-foot (4.6 m) waves, causing extensive power outages and flooding. On the coast of western and southern Cuba, Michelle produced 4–5 foot waves, along with a heavy storm surge. Rainfall amounts up to 754 mm/29.69 inches were recorded across the island. In addition, 300 mm/11.83 inches
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#17328556408294004-456: The entirety of Michelle's track, 22 people were killed, and damage was estimated at $ 2.43 billion (2001 USD; $ 4.18 billion 2024 USD). After the season, the name Michelle was retired and was replaced with Melissa for the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season . On October 16, 2001, a tropical wave moved westward off the coast of Africa and moved into the Atlantic Ocean. At
4081-512: The equity and loan finance raised by the end of the year. While Mariculture worked to domesticate the green sea turtle, protection regulations threatened to prevent the sale/transhipment of all turtle products in/through the United States and other countries, limiting the commercial value of the Mariculture product. By the mid-1970s, the facility housed near 100,000 turtles, the expansion requiring
4158-557: The facility was renamed the Cayman Turtle Centre: Island Wildlife Encounter in order that visitors knew about the park's other attractions, beyond its sea turtles. With the centre becoming successful in breeding and researching the green sea turtle as well as the Kemp's ridley sea turtle , the centre became one of the most successful tourist attractions in the Caymans by the turn of the 21st century. The centre
4235-410: The fifth costliest tropical cyclone in Cuban history and the strongest hurricane of the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season . The thirteenth named storm and seventh hurricane that year, Michelle developed from a tropical wave that had traversed into the western Caribbean Sea on October 29; the wave had initially moved off the coast of Africa 13 days prior. In its early developmental stages ,
4312-470: The hurricane attained Category 2 hurricane intensity. At roughly the same time, the hurricane's eye became more apparent on satellite imagery. By 1200 UTC later that day, Michelle had intensified to a Category 4 hurricane . Six hours later, the hurricane weakened to Category 3 intensity, but reached its minimum barometric pressure of 934 mbar (934 hPa; 27.6 inHg). Afterwards, Michelle's central pressure began to rise; despite
4389-456: The island, an act it had done in the past despite a political embargo. President Fidel Castro refused, believing his country would survive with enough resources for the reconstruction process. Severe beach erosion due to increased swells over several days took place from Hollywood Beach to Hallandale Beach. At high tide on November 4, water topped the seawall, damaging it and nearby structures leaving $ 20,000 in damages. The cost to restore
4466-492: The islands made it impossible locally for turtling to continue to be a viable source of income. In 1968, American and British investors — Irvin Naylor, Henry Hamlin, Samuel Ayres, III, and Anthony G.A. Fisher — obtained licensing from the Cayman Islands government and grouped together to found Mariculture Ltd, Fisher taking the largest shareholding. The Bank of England's CDFC became a participant in 1970, CDFC's covenant supporting 50% of
4543-420: The new company paid off all the left behind local trade creditors of Mariculture and - though lossmaking - was adequately financed during its seven years of life. By 1978, the Farm was self sufficient in eggs from its captive breeding herd, making it the first enterprise to domesticate the green sea turtle, but there was little recognition of this fact in conservation circles and their opposition found expression in
4620-419: The new park became an expanded facility to include a nature park. The new tourist facility was named "Boatswain's Beach". Following the expansion, the entire park contained 23 acres that included a nature trail and aviary as well as a reef lagoon where visitors could snorkel with native fish and other local sea life, including the green sea turtle. A fresh water lagoon and waterfall was also included in addition to
4697-429: The next day, a hurricane watch was issued for Bermuda after Michelle made its final Cuban landfall. Meanwhile, the tropical storm warning issued for the Cayman Islands was discontinued. As Michelle accelerated away from landmasses, warnings and watches were discontinued. All tropical cyclone warnings in the United States were discontinued by 2100 UTC that day. At the same time, however, the hurricane watch for Bermuda
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#17328556408294774-407: The population following the event. As a result of the disaster, the Cayman Islands government conceived a new vision for the centre when the breeding pond was relocated across West Bay Road from the current facility. The new and more modern facility was far enough away from the sea that it would no longer be in danger of high seas such as had been experienced during the 2001 hurricane season. As well,
4851-545: The precursor to Michelle remained stationary primarily over Nicaragua, damage was not as significant as in Honduras due to the storm's displacement of convection to the north. Nonetheless, floods still isolated villages and other communities in the Nicaraguan districts of Bonaza , Rosita , Siuna , Puerto Cabezas , Waspam , and to a lesser extent, Prinzapolka . In those areas, roads and bridges were damaged, and in some cases, destroyed. The heavy rains also damaged crops. Due to
4928-514: The rains, an estimated 6,000 people evacuated from their homes. The port city of Puerto Cabezas was partially flooded. As a result of Michelle, a total of 16 deaths were confirmed, and damage in the country was estimated at $ 1 million. In Costa Rica, Michelle caused anomalously high rainfall, resulting in flooding. Overall, damage in Costa Rica totaled $ 1 million, though no deaths were reported. In early November, Hurricane Michelle brought heavy surf, storm surge , and flooding to
5005-469: The recovery of Cuba from Hurricane Michelle. The shipments are part of a one-time $ 30 million purchase of U.S. food by the Cuban government to assist in the country's present food shortage. The Cuban government refused an initial U.S. offer of humanitarian assistance, but accepted a proposal to purchase the goods instead. Although the United States has maintained an economic embargo on Cuba for decades, U.S. law does allow shipments of food and medicine to
5082-437: The road debris. The blocked roads isolated seven Jamaican villages for an extended period of time. After tropical cyclogenesis, Michelle passed to the northwest of Jamaica, producing additional rainfall. In a 48-hour period beginning on October 29, a location measured 41.65 inches (1,058 mm), denoting an average rainfall rate of 0.86 inches (22 mm) per hour. Many other locations reported high rainfall totals over
5159-432: The same time, the hurricane began to accelerate northeastward; this brought the intense hurricane to a Cuban landfall within the Bay of Pigs later that day. Crossing over the island, Michelle was weakened significantly, and was only a Category 1 hurricane upon reentry into the Atlantic Ocean. The hurricane later transitioned into an extratropical cyclone over The Bahamas on November 5, before being absorbed by
5236-478: The state within the outer bands of the hurricane. The first formed as a waterspout and moved onshore near Bill Baggs Beach and destroyed two Chikee huts, costing $ 6,000, warranting F0 intensity, before dissipating. The second and stronger of the two tornadoes, rated F1, tracked for 2 mi (3.2 km) in Palm Beach County . Windows were blown out of vehicles and buildings, trees and signs were downed and
5313-455: The time, the wave produced minimal convective and thunderstorm activity. On October 23, the disturbance crossed the Lesser Antilles before moving into the Caribbean Sea while showing minimal signs of tropical development . Three days later, the wave moved into the western Caribbean, spawning a broad low-pressure area off the coast of Nicaragua . At 1800 UTC on October 29,
5390-464: The trend, its maximum sustained winds also strengthened as it curved northeastward. Despite having its convective organization disrupted and its eye no longer as apparent on November 4, Michelle attained winds of 140 mph (230 km/h) by 0600 UTC that day; these would be the highest sustained winds estimated for the system throughout its existence. At 1800 UTC on November 4, Michelle made landfall on Cayo Largo del Sur as
5467-425: The waves washed turtles of all sizes from hatchlings to 600 pound adults out to sea. Cayman residents responded to help rescue the turtles and many were saved at the time. For months thereafter, the yellow-tagged turtles from the centre were spotted around the island for following Hurricane Michelle. 75% of the breeding turtles were lost. The centre's release and meat supply programs were reduced in an effort to build up
5544-406: The weakening hurricane made landfalls over Andros Island and Eleuthera Island before becoming fully extratropical by 0000 UTC on November 6, while still maintaining hurricane-force winds. The extratropical system persisted for roughly 18 more hours before it was absorbed by an approaching cold front . As Hurricane Michelle approached the Cuban coast, the government of Cuba issued
5621-617: The western Caribbean Sea, it produced torrential rainfall on the island of Jamaica , causing widespread flooding. Several residences on Annotto Bay and Port Maria were flooded. As a result, 163 evacuees sought shelter in locations in Annotto Bay. In Portland , a shelter was opened for effected populations; in the same parish, six homes were swept away from their foundations. In the parishes of Saint Catherine , Saint Andrew , and Saint Ann , several roads were blocked by debris. The Jamaican National Works Agency (NWA) worked to clear
5698-470: Was 950 mbar (950 hPa; 28 inHg). Over Cuba, Michelle's center of circulation was significantly disrupted, and as a result the hurricane decreased in intensity; by the time it had emerged into the Atlantic Ocean on November 5, winds were only estimated at 90 mph (140 km/h). Southwesterly wind shear further inhibited any additional tropical development, and as such Michelle began to transition into an extratropical cyclone . That day,
5775-546: Was a roughly 12 percent chance for the tropical storm to rapidly intensify ; by that time the storm had met three of the organization's five criterion for rapid intensification. During the day, fluctuations in convective activity occurred and there were some signs of wind shear affecting the cyclone, but there was a general strengthening trend. Two dropsondes deployed within the system early on November 2 observed hurricane-force winds within Michelle; based on this data
5852-410: Was changed to a tropical storm warning; this warning was sustained for a day before being discontinued, shortly after all warnings in the Bahamas were also discontinued. Hurricane Michelle brought torrential rains along its path through the western Caribbean Sea, killing 22 people and causing extensive damage in Central America and Cuba . As the precursor tropical wave to Michelle drifted through
5929-532: Was reported at Punta del Este. The provinces of Matanzas , Villa Clara , and Cienfuegos were hardest hit, where 10,000 homes were destroyed and another 100,000 damaged. Severe damage was also reported to the sugar cane and in the tourist town of Varadero . In Havana , winds and rain destroyed 23 buildings, with many others damaged. Due to well-executed warnings and evacuations, only 5 people were killed in Cuba. The Category 4 hurricane caused US$ 1.8 billion in damage. The United States offered aid to
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