Of all the hurricanes to hit Bermuda that I can recall, Hurricane Ernesto has to one the weirdest!
The first hurricane I can recall was Hurricane Ethel, a Cat 2 that hit Bermuda in September 1964, This was my introduction to hurricanes and although not by any means the strongest I remember it well because I had been living in singlemen;s quarters at Henderson block at the police barracks, Prospect, since arriving on Island in May that year, and I happened to be on night shift the evening it struck, and had to report for duty at 11.45pm. There was no way I could ride my Triumph Tina scooter in all that wind so the only other option was to walk to Hamilton via Happy Valley Road which seemed a quicker and more sheltered option that walking down Middle Road. But Happy Valley Road happened to be lined with dozens poinciana trees and I could hear branches breaking off around me in ther dark.
Having survived the coldest “brass monkey” winter in living memory as a young beat P.C. in the Staffordshire Police in 1962-63, walking along an unfamiliar road in almost complete darkness with tree branches cracking around me was more like an adventure – at least I wasn’t freezing!
Since then Bermuda has encountered many dozens of hurricanes some minor, and others such as Emily, “The Bitch who came for breakfast”, which I happened to miss, being on a course in Sussex. About 2 weeks later it was said that Emily was part of the horrendous hurricane type storm that struck the UK, despite the BBC’s weatherman Michael Fish confidently dismissing its impending arrival as a none event - that’s the one that demolished some 17 million trees!
Wthout doubt the worst hurricane in Bermuda’s modern history was Hurricane Fabian, a Cat 3 hurricane which devastated Bermuda when it struck the Island in September 2003, with winds recorded as high as 150mph (240kmh). Tragically, the BPS lost 3 of our own when one of our police vehicles carrying P.C’s Stephen Symonds, Nicole O’Connor and duty Station Officer Gladys Saunders, became trapped on the Causeway when it was seriously damaged in several sections while the police vehicle was attempting to cross it. Their vehicle was swept overboard, as was another vehicle also attempting to cross the Causeway carrying Mr Manuel Pacheco. All four were drowned. This is the only hurricane in many years to result in fatalities, and it was also estimated that the Island incurred damages in the region of $300,000 million.
Forecasting technology has greatly advanced in recent years and forecasting is now usually phenominally accurate. One of the finest forecasters in our neck of the woods is “Mr. Weatherman”, Mr. Brian Shields, who provides superb weather forecasts especially for major storms in the Caribbean and Bermuda - and he does so with tremendous visuals and enthusiasm!. If Mr. Weatherman says we going to be hit - we’re going to be hit! (You can easily find him on YouTube).
Having said that he was predicting that Hurricane Ernesto, a Cat 1 or 2 was heading straight for Bermuda and he was spot on! But having said that, Ernesto was the weirdest hurricane I’ve ever witnessed.
Just as expected the winds picked up rapidly on Ernesto’s approach to Bermuda on Friday afternoon, 16th August, and there was no doubt we were going to feel the full force of Ernesto although it was by then designeted as a Cat 1 rather than Cat 2. The winds rapidly picked up to hurricane force in the evening and were recorded at some 88mph at its highest speed. The Causeway was closed, as was the stretch of Watch Hill Park just west of John Smith’s Bay.
At this point Ernesto was behaving as hurricanes do, high winds causing major power failures across the Island, many downed trees, some 74% of homes losing power, and flash flooding in areas such as Mills Creek and other low lying areas. Then around 5am the winds eased off as the eye was passing over us, but this lull went on for at least 2-3 hours. I’ve never experienced the lull caused by the eye of a hurricane lasting for more than an hour at most, and winds then usually hit us full force from the opposite direction. In this case after those 2-3 hours of comparative calm the winds picked up quite slowly at first and it seemed as though the worst had passed. But then they picked back up and increased to close to hurricane force again in gusts and lasted for most of Saturday until Sunday morning before finally decreasing.
During his visit Ernesto dropped some 7-9 inches of rain and you could practically hear our golf courses soaking it up as we’d been without serious rain for the last 2 months, and golf courses, cricket fields and lawns were all looking dry and crisp. If nothing else, Ernesto came at an opportune time for our farmers and gardeners.
I wonder how many of our readers can identify Bermuda’s newest lake!!
Fortunately, there are no reports of anyone being injured and no major storm damage - but the season is young! Ernesto was the 3rd named hurricane of the season in a year that’s being predicted will have an estimated 17-25 named storms and 4-7 major hurricanes due to the fact that we’re having record-warm ocean temperatures this season.
CLICK HERE for more detailed information about Ernesto in the Royal Gazette
CLICK HERE for more detailed information and potos about Ernesto on BERNEWS
18th August 2024