# St Barts Forums > Storm Tracker >  >  Too late to evacuate?

## tim

For those folks currently on St. Barth, my advice is to decide right now whether to evacuate or stay on the island through the storm and its immediate aftermath.

Whenever there's a threat like the current Irma, it's been my experience that all St. Barth aircraft will be flown to a safe location well in advance of the storm.

That leaves the ferry option to get over to Princess Juliana airport to catch a big bird to the U.S.A.  I've taken the Voyager in a mild hurricane, and it was most unpleasant.  The ferry option  also will not be available as the storm nears St. Barth.

I was on St. Barth for Hurricane Lenny in 1999.  I was well up Mt. Vitet, so storm surge was not a threat.  What was a threat was an enormous amount of rain that turned roads into rivers.  If memory serves, power was out for three days.  I was able to cope with the situation in my own home, but those stuck in hotels were not as fortunate.

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## LMAC

good advice!  hopefully Irma will turn northward and peter out in the north Atlantic - away from St. Barth as well as the US.

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## BBT



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## BBT



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## trey

i was on the Island in 1995 right before Luis hit (on my honeymoon on my first trip to SB).  They indeed cleared the planes off the island several days in advance and i got one of the last planes off.

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## KevinS

It's still too early to know exactly where Irma is going to track, but the above graphics show her tracking north of the island.  At present, Hurricane Force winds extend out 25 miles/45 km from the center, and Tropical Storm Force Winds extend out 105 miles/165 km, so St Barth could take a beating even if there is no direct hit.  

For those visiting the island right now, Tim's post in this thread is something to seriously consider.  For any who might be scheduled to visit next week, check your trip insurance.

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## BBT

5pm update 9/1/2017

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## tim

The projections are looking a lot better for St. Barth.  Let's hope she stays off the US coast as well!

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## amyb

What Tim said. Fingers crossed!

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## chris83

Please note the US models show IRMA on a more northern path (favorable to St Barth)
   The european models (the most efficient this year,it seems) show a more southern hit.
   It will be a strong cat 4 or even 5 as the SST are extremely high approaching the caribbean
   IRMA is supposed to move southwest this week-end because of a high pressure system..How much south is the crucial question.
   A better idea with this map :https://weather.com/storms/hurricane...-2017/AL112017
   if you live on the northern side of the island,impact will be maximum.
   If you live close to the beach,you need to move to higher grounds as IRMA will massively impact sea level,as it's moving pretty slowly.
   If you can evacuate,i highly recommend doing so today or tomorrow morning .

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## KevinS

This satellite image, downloaded from the Meteo-SBH.com website. will give you an idea of the size of Irma, compared to the size of the islands in the Antilles.

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## stbartshopper

Apparently another strong storm behind Irma is on the way from the coast of Africa.

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## cassidain

> Apparently another strong storm behind Irma is on the way from the coast of Africa.



there is a tropical disturbance shown to the east of irma. listed as less than 40% chance of developing into a cyclone. is there another storm ?

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## chris83

The threat is Irma
   IRMA is also "swallowing" the heat content in the ocean in the area....The second disturbance will need to head south to become a massive threat
   IRMA may be a strong cat 4 tuesday evening
   Evacuate if you can

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## cassidain

> IRMA may be a strong cat 4 tuesday evening



 latest nhc discussion predicts category 4 cyclone by that time. 140 mph

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## elgreaux

The locals do not evacuate but visitors might want to; damage to the airport or port might mean not leaving as planned after the storm, if it hits...

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## carmen

Ann and I wish you all a miss! Good luck and Godspeed!

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## cassidain

> That leaves the ferry option to get over to Princess Juliana airport to catch a big bird to the U.S.A.  I've taken the Voyager in a mild hurricane, and it was most unpleasant.  The ferry option  also will not be available as the storm nears St. Barth.



Ferry update:
IRMA - INFORMATION FERRIES


GREAT BAY EXPRESS, sauf changement de derniere minute, assurera ses rotations lundi 04 septembre toute la journée.


Les rotations de mardi 05 septembre, mercredi 06 septembre et jeudi 07 septembre le matin sont suspendues.


Les rotations reprendront jeudi fin d'apres midi si possible, en fonction des conditions météo et des ré-ouvertures des ports de Philipsburg et de Gustavia.

Ferry GBE keeping scheduled runs Monday. All runs suspended Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. 
Will restart runs Thursday afternoon conditions permitting.

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