December 9, 2024

Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day comes from Karen Bodin looking at the sun setting from Carib Bight on the south side of the island.
This is one of those mornings with stubborn low clouds bringing us rain. We should clear out of this by afternoon and have some nice weather today, tomorrow and much of Wednesday before our next norther comes.

Here is our satellite at 9:45 a.m. and there are clear skies to our east, but the clouds are moving to the west very slowly. Guanaja has picked up an inch and a half, but is almost into the blue sky. Roatan will hopefully be into the blue sky by afternoon. Once that happens we will have only scattered showers, mostly at night, through much of the Wednesday, but Wednesday afternoon we will have increasing clouds and rain chances. Heaviest rain will be Wednesday night into Thursday morning, but Thursday looks like a rainy day. Friday morning rain will decrease, but Friday will be a windy day.
The weekend looks OK except for a wave of showers Saturday night into Sunday morning.

Wind and Galaxy Wave forecast: Winds this morning are from the northeast 5-10 mph and seas 4 feet. Today and tomorrow winds should be from the east 10-15 mph and seas 3-4 feet. Wednesday and Thursday morning winds will be from the east around 10 mph and seas 2-3 feet. Thursday night into Friday the wind really picks up from the north 12-20 mph and seas 6 feet. Over the weekend winds get quite calm with 3 foot seas. Next week looks much calmer.

Explore Roatan real estate with the island’s top experts at Roatan Life Real Estate. Serving clients since 2001, we offer personalized guidance in buying and selling properties. Trust our dedicated team for unparalleled local knowledge. Start your journey at http://www.roatanlife.com

Low tide is 10:30 p.m. Have a great week!

December 8, 2024

Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day comes from last month’s winner Ken Meissner and shows a double rainbow over Gibson Bight. Remember the Photo of the Month of December gets a $50 gift certificate to Roatan Oasis (roatanoasis.com).

It seems during rainy season, the forecast isn’t whether it is going to rain, the forecast is whether it is going to rain a lot or a little. By that measure, today through Tuesday we’re hoping it will rain only a little.

We wake up to some clouds, but also quite a bit of sun to our northeast. Today we will have scattered showers around, but hopefully not as much as the last two days. Tuesday is our best chance at a day without any rain. Wednesday evening into Thursday morning we get our next norther in and a rainy Thursday and a windy Friday.

Wind and Galaxy Wave forecast: We continue to have windy and wavy conditions, from the northeast 10-15 mph this morning and seas around 5 feet. Today and tomorrow winds will continue around 15 mph, but they will start to turn more to the east. Seas should calm to 4 feet today and 3 feet tomorrow. Wednesday and Thursday look fairly calm with 2 foot seas. Friday the norther winds come at 20 mph and seas up to 7 feet.

Today would be a great day for a refreshing lychee cocktail at Ikigai by Robby Molina in French Harbour!

Lowest tide is 9:30 p.m. Have a great Sunday!

December 7, 2024

Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day comes from Angela Lopez over in Calabash and shows a heron at sunrise.
Most of us have gotten between a quarter and half an inch this morning after about the same amount yesterday, though Guanaja got 1.5 inches yesterday and Utila got 2+ inches. Things look to be rainy today, but perhaps we catch a break tomorrow.

The satellite at 7:30 a.m. shows lots of clouds, but also areas of blue sky, especially for east Roatan. But we can also see a storm building over Trujillo on the mainland. The models say we should get more clouds and rain midday and early afternoon.
The Euro keeps rain around tomorrow, but the GFS says that most of the rain should be south of us tomorrow. I’m going to go out on a limb and say tomorrow will be less rainy than today. Tuesday and Wednesday morning look decent, but then Wednesday evening into Thursday we get another norther, with rain and north winds.

Wind and Galaxy Wave forecast: We continue to have northeast winds 15 mph and seas 4 feet. We will stay around there today and tomorrow.
Monday winds calm to 10 mph and turn to the east and seas 3-4 feet.
Tuesday we will have 10 mph east winds and seas 2-3 feet.
Wednesday and Thursday look fairly calm.
The windiest day with this norther will be Friday with north/northeast winds 10-20 mph and seas around 5 feet.

Tides continue to be mild. Have a great weekend!

December 6, 2024

Our photo of the day comes from Debbie Bartlett in Jonesville. We’ve all gotten some rain overnight, but Utila has gotten the most, with about 3.5 inches in the last 24 hours. We will continue to deal with rain through the weekend, and next week winds and seas will get a little calmer.

Here is this morning’s radar at 8:45 a.m. Rain is slowly moving to the west. We will continue to have off-and-on showers through Monday morning. Rain should be a little heavier overnights and a little lighter during the afternoons.
Monday afternoon and Tuesday look like drier days, but a small norther is coming Wednesday afternoon into Thursday.

Wind and Galaxy Wave forecast: We will continue to have northeast winds around 15 mph and seas 4-5 feet through Sunday. Monday seas will calm to 4 feet and Tuesday to 3 feet.

Even if it is raining, it is always a great weekend to head over to Guanaja. You owe it to yourself to visit the unspoiled gem of the Bay Islands.

Tides continue to be mild. Have a great Friday!

December 5, 2024

Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day comes from Bianca Isnardi McNab and shows a downpour in Sandy Bay from last weekend. We are going to be seeing plenty of this starting this afternoon and lasting through the weekend.

Here is this morning’s satellite. You can see storms to our east near Puerto Lempira. These will move west and bring us periods of heavy rain. The heaviest rain should be tonight into tomorrow morning, but we will have off and on rain through Sunday.

Here is the GFS rainfall foreccast through Sunday. You can see the heaviest amount, 14 inches, is forecast for La Ceiba on the mainland. But generally amounts should be higher the further south you go, so Utila should see more rain, perhaps 6-8 inches, and Guanaja, a little less.

Wind and Galaxy Wave forecast: Today we still have wavy seas around 5 feet with northeast winds 15-20 mph. We will have those winds all day, perhaps gusting in storms this evening. Tomorrow we will continue to have northeast winds 15-20 mph and seas 4 feet. Through the weekend winds at times will gust to 20-25 mph and seas will be 4-5 feet.

Things are looking a little better early next week, so if you are coming on a cruise next week, check out the excursions run by Jolly Roger Roatan for a guaranteed good time and on-time return to your ship.

High and low tides are continuing to be mild. Have a great Thursday!

December 4, 2024

Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day comes from Colleen Hill looking south from Laguna Beach on Utila. Send your photos with name and location to bookmybio@gmail.com to compete for a $50 gift certificate from roatanoasis.com.

Utila and Roatan got around a tenth of an inch last night, while Guanaja picked up half an inch yesterday evening. We’re dealing with some wavy conditions today while waiting for rains Friday into the weekend.

We have quite a few clouds around and perhaps a shower here or there this morning. Today through tomorrow morning we will continue to have partly cloudy skies and a possible shower but nothing too bad. Tomorrow evening we will have increasing clouds and rain showers. The rain on Friday doesn’t look as bad as we had feared. Right now we’re thinking 2-3 inches, but it also looks like the rain will continue through Saturday and perhaps Sunday morning. Friday still should be the day of heaviest rain, though.

Wind and Galaxy Wave forecast: This morning we wake up to 15 mph northeast winds and seas around 6 feet. Those conditions will continue through today. Tomorrow we will continue to have 15 mph northeast winds, but seas should calm to 4-5 feet. Friday through the weekend winds will be from the east/northeast 15-20 mph and seas 4 feet.
I’m curious about the temperatures tomorrow morning, because I think they will be quite cool, around 70 (21C).

Mitch Cummins tells me that the introduction of cat food at Roatan Pets is going well. That is a good thing because we all know cats are picky creatures. If you want fresh, locally sourced food for your cat or dog, give Mitch a call at 9801-7828.

Lowest tide is 5 a.m. Have a great Wednesday!

Congratulations to Kenneth Meissner, winner of the November’s Photo of the Month and a $50 gift certificate to Umbul Umbul.

December 3, 2024

Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day comes from Jason Bauer (Island Jay) and was taking from Coxen Hole on Nov. 30 of the fireworks celebrating Bojangles 26th anniversary.

We can see partly cloudy skies at 8 a.m. on satellite. These clouds don’t have much rain in them, and we should stay dry most of today, but we will have an increased rain chance between 4 p.m. and midnight.

Tomorrow we will have a stiff north wind at 20 mph and seas around 6 feet. It will be mostly cloudy, and there will be a chance of rain, especially in the afternoon, but the amount shouldn’t be that great.
Thursday rain chances continue but winds decrease to 15 mph and seas to 4-5 feet. Thursday morning check the thermometer for perhaps the coolest temperatures of the season so far.
Friday into Saturday morning we will see another strong rain system. Right now totals look to be 3-6 inches across the islands. Winds will be from the east/northeast 15-20 mph and seas 4-5 feet.
After this storm passes, we should see normal rain chances for Sunday into next week, a nice break from the Noah’s Ark rain chances we’ve been having.

Cool, rainy weather is the perfect time to fire up the grill and have a sizzling steak or pork chop from Carniceria Rosita, the freshest, best meat on the island. Check them out in French Harbour or Coxen Hole.

Lowest tide is 4 a.m.
Have a great Tuesday!

December 2, 2024

Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day comes from Guido Bertea and shows a forelorn dock in Sandy Bay during a downpour such as we saw yesterday. We had widespread 4-5 inch readings midisland and east side, 2-3 inches west side, and 7 big inches on Utila. Already this morning many locations midisland and east side have nearly 2 inches. Things should improve this afternoon, but we still have the wind and waves to deal with.

On satellite we see clouds around our islands, but some clearer air to our north. We’ll probably stay with mostly cloudy skies today, but we should get some drier air in here for the afternoon and rain should be ending.
Tuesday looks mostly dry with a chance of a morning shower.
Wednesday we get another shot of cool air from the north. This should be the one that brings the coolest air temperatures, around 70F (21C) for lows Thursday morning. Wednesday and Thursday we will have off and on showers. We have another round of heavy rain to deal with Friday into Saturday.

Wind and Galaxy Wave forecast: This morning we have 20-25 northeast winds and seas around 6 feet according to the buoys around the island, but Miss Liz Riggs agrees with me that closer in to the island, right at the reef, seas don’t look as bad, maybe 4 feet. They will stay right around there today. Tonight and tomorrow winds should be north around 15 mph and seas around 4 feet. Wednesday we get another cold front and winds from the northeast 20 mph and seas at 6 feet. Winds Friday and Saturday will be affected by the next heavy storm system.

Explore Roatan real estate with the island’s top experts at Roatan Life Real Estate. Serving clients since 2001, we offer personalized guidance in buying and selling properties. Trust our dedicated team for unparalleled local knowledge. Start your journey at www.roatanlife.com

If you are interested in buying a weather station, the folks over at Ambient Weather have their WS-2902 on sale for $152 for Cyber Monday. Check it out at ambientweather.com.

Lowest tide is 3 a.m. Have a great week!

Rainfall for Novemer 2024

We’re putting 22.62 inches of rain in the books for November 2024, and despite all the rains from Tropical Storm Sara, in the end we were only 5 inches above average. Utila, however was much above that with 34 inches. We only need 16 inches in December to get to average annual rainfall for the year after having a near record drought during dry season this year. And we are well on our way to 16 inches after 4-6 inches today.

November 30, 2024

Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day comes from Aaron Hardee. Aaron tells me the guy in the kayak is Sammy, who sells coconuts and pineapples on West Bay. Aaron is the last contested for a $50 gift certificate to Umbul Umbul. I’m still looking for a December sponsor.
There is A LOT to talk about, including a stormy day tomorrow and windy, wavy days Monday-Thursday morning.

Let’s start with our satellite at 8:10 a.m. We can see some storms off the Mosquito Coast. These are forecast to become a pretty heavy storm that will pass over our islands tonight through tomorrow night.

Here is the Euro model showing the storm’s progress through Monday, when things should get a little better, at least when it comes to the rain. Models are showing quite heavy rain, 4-8 inches, mostly on Sunday.

Of course, nothing is certain. The Canadian model pushes the rain more to our south, giving us only 1-2 inches.

Wind and Galaxy Wave forecast: Today and tomorrow we will be dealing with moderate winds and seas from the 15 mph and seas 3-4 feet. Monday and Wednesday will be very bad sea days, with northeast winds 20-30 mph and seas 6-8 feet. Tuesday will be only moderately better with northeast winds 15-20 mph and seas around 5 feet. Thursday things start to calm a little and Friday through the weekend should be normal on the seas.

We will have very fresh temperatures Wednesday and Thursday. I’m looking for morning lows at 70, or perhaps a degree or two cooler. Remember our all-time record low is 66.
Lowest tide is 2 a.m. Have a great weekend!