The Turks and Caicos are occasionally affected by tropical storms and hurricanes. The most likely chance of experiencing a tropical cyclone would be during the height of hurricane season. This generally is mid August through early October. The strongest hurricanes usually move in from the east or east-southeast after passing over or north of the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico. Tropical cyclones that affect the Turks and Caicos from the south or southeast out of the Caribbean Sea are usually considerable weaker. This is the result of them passing over the high terrain of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic).

The Turks and Caicos dry season stretches from January to August. Generally, 1 – 1 ½ inches of rain occurs each month, with slightly higher amounts during June at around 2 inches. The wet season lasts only four months from September through December. The rainfall amounts nearly double during this time period with about 3 – 4 inches each month. It is usually the result of passing cold fronts, tropical cyclones, or upper air low pressure systems that may develop. Keep in mind, locally heavy rainfall may be expected with the passage of a tropical cyclone.

Temperatures are quite uniform throughout the year. The warmest weather is during summer, where daytime high’s are in the upper 80’s and overnight low’s near 80 degrees. The rest of the year has temperatures mostly in the low to mid 80’s for high temperatures and low to mid 70’s for morning low temperatures. The Atlantic Ocean tempers the climate with record highs in the mid 90’s during the summer and 60’s for record low’s during the winter months.

In summary, the Turks and Caicos have a tropical maritime climate with a long dry season and short wet season. The temperatures are usually quite comfortable all year long. There is a threat of tropical cyclones, especially in August and September.

Rich is a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist with 25 years of weather forecasting and television experience. Visit his website http://www.Tropicalweather.net for more on expert hurricane forecasts and travel resources.

Hurricane & Travel Message Boards – Tropical Temperature and Rainfall Averages.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rich_Johnson

Author: Rich Johnson

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NZ baggage handling specialist Glidepath scoops Bahamas contract …

Automated baggage and cargo handling specialist Glidepath has won a $US21 million contract in the Bahamas.

Swimming with Spotted Eagle Rays – Bahamas Project

2009 · fish · invertebrates · sharks · conservation · Research Project · Research Projects · Beach Seine · Bahamas · corals · mangroves · Miami · plankton tow · plants · sea turtle · shipwreck · research project · snorkle · compost …

Feel The News: Lemon sharks feeding frenzy in Bahamas captured on …

"I have been going to the Bahamas to photograph sharks since 2002 because it is one of the best places on the planet to photograph large sharks. "It's typical to photograph five or six species of large sharks in a single trip. …

Hope you enjoy the read as much as I did and please if you have something to say, use the comments form below to let everyone know your thoughts.

Have a great day!

the K Chronicles: “One Small Snorkel For Me”

A non-swimmer goes snorkeling.

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By Keith Knight Published: 2/12/2008

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MIAMI – Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line have suspended stops at Mexican ports over concerns about swine flu.

Carnival said on its Web site it has canceled all calls at Mexican ports through May 4, and in many cases will be able to substitute the canceled sto

with an alternative port.

Royal Caribbean had said it was monitoring the situation but telling passengers not to worry because the outbreaks are inland, not in the Mexican coastal cities popular with cruise tourists. But later Tuesday the company said it was suspending port calls indefinitely in Mexico until more is known about the swine flu outbreak.

The move affects its Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises ships.

Norwegian is canceling Norwegian Pearl’s final two calls in Mexico this week after saying earlier in the day that it was monitoring the situation and asking passengers about their health before cruises start but keeping the trips.

Norwegian’s schedules do not include any other ports in Mexico until the end of September 2009, the company said.

Evan Hanna, of Stafford, Va., was already at sea and headed to Grand Cayman and Cozumel when he and other passengers got word their Carnival ship would skip Mexico.

“There was a lot of yelling at the ship’s officials,” Hanna wrote in an e-mail from the oceanliner. “Most passengers still wanted to go to Cozumel, and there were a lot that wanted to go back to the home port early.”

By Tuesday afternoon, most had gotten over it, Hanna said.

Royal Caribbean has four ships that regularly stop in Mexico and two more that were scheduled to begin port calls there. Celebrity Cruises has one ship that was scheduled to make stops in Mexico. The company says the ships will stop in other ports or spend extra time at sea.

Princess Cruises canceled calls in Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas on Tuesday and diverted its Sapphire ship from Mexican ports to San Diego and Catalina.

Royal Caribbean’s chief medical officer, Dr. Art Diskin, said authorities had not raised specific concerns about the ports the ships visit in Mexico, but the company was taking a cautious approach to the situation.

The company is screening embarking guests and crew members about recent visits to Mexico or contact with ill people, increasing sanitization measures on ships and giving passengers swine flu information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The company said medical staff have the ability to isolate guests or crew members who develop flu-like symptoms.

On Monday, the World Health Organization increased its alert level from 3 to 4 — out of 6. Its influenza chief, Keiji Fukuda, warned that “at this time containment is not a feasible option,” rejecting calls for a travel ban or other restrictions on Mexico or the United States.

But travelers are canceling or delaying trips to Mexico, and on Tuesday Cuba became the first nation to ban all flights to its neighbor.

However, Debbie Rauch, owner of Great Escapes Cruises and More in Lighthouse Point, Fla., said most of her clients aren’t worried. One woman booked a trip Monday that will take her to Mexico in two months.

“She really didn’t seem that concerned at this point,” Rauch said. “If it’s going to become a pandemic and it’s going to be everywhere, it probably doesn’t matter where you go.”

Swine flu was said to have been a factor in more than 150 deaths and over 1,600 illnesses in Mexico. The number of confirmed cases in the United States climbed to 66 Tuesday, and federal officials warned that deaths were likely.

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Your arrival at Saltwhisle Bay is by boat, having been picked up at the airport on Union Island, and you are taken to Mayreau Island. Real holiday hideaways very often are only accessible by boat, and as you cross the channel to Mayreau you will realise, if you didn’t before what a small island it is.

Mayreau in fact is the smallest inhabited island in the Grenadines, being less than two square miles in size, with a population of about 250 living in a village on the south west of the island. Saltwhistle Bay Resort occupies the entire northern end of Mayreau island and the unspoilt beach shore of the windward side, which is considered by many windsurfers and kite boarders to be world class. Another reason for basing yourself here is that the famous, beautiful Tobago Cays are no distance away at all.

You will be greeted with a tray of rum punch, and your luggage will disappear, to reappear again in your bedroom, one of just ten rooms in stone cottages, scattered around behind a screen of palm trees in a 22 acre tropical garden. This is a simple and definitely barefoot type of place, but don’t be misled because it is also extremely comfortable but very low key. The cottages at Saltwhistle bay have been built using local wood and stone, and all feature king sized beds, with a spacious bed sitting area with an ensuite bathroom. Accessible from each room is a semi private shaded and furnished roof terrace.

It has to be described as a real Caribbean Hideaway because it is at least two plane journeys and a boat ride from home, so it is isolated. There is a little activity but not much, and the people who come here, do so to escape the speed and noise of life in the twenty first century. Most people who come to this Caribbean island resort come to read, relax, swing in a hammock and just generally enjoy the natural tropical life of a totally undeveloped tropical paradise. The bay is a perfect half moon of white sand and turquoise blue water, and must be one of the very best in the Caribbean

To summarise the key features of Saltwhistle Bay.

This is a very remote small Grenadines Hotel set on the smallest inhabited Grenadines Island of Mayreau, with a bar which can be lively with visiting yachtsmen, and an excellent stone and palm thatched garden restaurant which presents three good meals every day. It is an intimate, friendly hotel on a romantic Caribbean beach, with good swimming. This really is the classic Caribbean barefoot seclusion and attracts independent travellers, honeymooners and visiting yachtsmen.

Two things still to mention about this Caribbean Island resort which relate to tnings close by. The first is the Tobago Cays, the five uninhabited dream islands, and Saltwhistle Bay Club is the clsest resort to them, being just 15 minutes from the Cays and a snorkelling paradise. Not only that you can spend an afternoon on Petite Tobaque which is where Johnny Depp was marooned in the movie ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’.

The second thing is that you should visit the village on the other side of Mayreau where you will be able to eat some very good food at great value prices.

This Caribbean Island resort will not be for you if you like five star pampering but if you see yourself as a traveller as opposed to a holidaymaker then this Caribbean Hideaway could be perfect.

For more information about Saint Vincent and the Grenadines go to http://www.caribbean-vacationspots.com/categories/St-Vincent-and-The-Grenadines/

About The Author

Gordon Steven writes exclusively for http://www.caribbean-vacationspots.com as well as http://www.worldwidevacationspots.com and has visited personally many of the places he reports on, and has done extensive research on the others

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Ike forms in the Atlantic Ocean
Hurricane Ike began as a tropical wave off of the coast of Africa around August 29th, 2008. A few days later, by September 1 it had developed into the 9th tropical depression of the
Hurricane season and was classified tropical storm Ike later in the day. Ike underwent rapid deepening on September 3rd into the morning of the 4th. It had achieved a category 4 strength on the Saffir-Simpson scale at 140 mph. Shortly after this, northerly wind shear started to take its toll and weaken it north of the Leeward Islands.

Ike moves into the Islands
Ike underwent another restrengthening phase as it moved west southwest into the Turks and Caicos and southern Bahamas. Grand Turk was in the northern eye wall and Great Inagua, Bahamas received a direct hit. Extensive damage occurred throughout these locations, with preliminary estimates showing 80% of the houses on Grand Turk receiving some damage. Ike continued toward Cuba making landfall on the northeast coast of Cuba. It crossed Cuba and turned more west northwest, barely off of its southern coast. After this, Ike made a second landfall in the western part of the country near where Hurricane Gustav made landfall not long before.

Ike began to strengthen immediately after moving into the southern Gulf of Mexico. The Keys received some flooding, had squally weather and reported an isolated tornado. In a similar fashion to Hurricane Gustav, Hurricane Ike had a very low barometric pressure in the central Gulf of Mexico, but did not strengthen significantly. Dry air on the western side of the hurricane kept it from strengthening until just before landfall.

Ike makes landfall in Texas
High storm tides flooded the upper Texas and southwest Louisiana coast twenty four hours ahead of landfall. Storm tides of 10-15 feet were common in these areas. Ike made landfall on September 13 at 2:10 am cdt at Galveston, TX. Even though Ike was classified as a category two hurricane with winds of 110 mph, very few gusts over 100 mph were recorded on land. Winds a few hundred feet above the ground were much higher though, and damaged many windows to the sky scrapers in Houston. Rainfall totals of near ten inches were reported in Houston. Heavy rain continued into the mid part of the U.S. as Ike merged with a cold front. Power was lost to approximately four and a half million people at the height of the hurricane.

Summary
In summary, Ike was a huge hurricane. Its tropical storm force wind field extended exceeded that of Katrina. In the central Gulf of Mexico, winds of tropical storm force or greater extended out 275 miles from the center. Ike’s effects not only were felt on the coast, but extended well inland. Wind damage and/or flooding rains followed the path of Ike into the southern Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and into New England. Rainfall totals of ten inches or more were recorded in the southern Great Lakes. Power Outages were also common from wind damage well northward into the Ohio Valley. After damage estimates are finished, Ike is likely to become one of the all time costliest hurricanes to hit the U.S..

By: Rich Johnson

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Rich is a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist with 25 years of weather forecasting and television experience. His expertise is in tropical meteorology forecasting hurricanes. His website TropicalWeather.net is dedicated to helping travelers cope with tropical weather. Visit his hurricane and travel message boards to get the latest hurricane forecasts and travel information.

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