Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day comes from Lisa Cox. Her sunset was taken in Sandy Bay. We will continue to have gorgeous sunsets today and tomorrow with mostly sunny skies an only a slight chance of an overnight shower. Our tropical wave will pass through on Friday, but it is highly unlikely to develop into anything close to a tropical depression by then.

On satellite we can see that we have clear skies this morning, but we also see the tropical wave right now north of the Colombian coast. We should see increasing clouds Thursday. The best chance of rain will come Thursday night into Friday morning and Friday night into Saturday morning.

In the long-range forecast the weekend looks a little drier, but next week looks like another week with lots of scattered showers.
Wind and Galaxy Wave forecast: We wake up to 10 mph east winds and 2 foot seas. Those may calm a little as we get toward midday. Wednesday and Thursday look like calm days. Friday we will have moderate winds at 15 mph, stronger when we get a squall. The weekend into next week looks fairly calm as well.

With a couple of gorgeous days coming up, it will be a great time for outdoor grilling, and no place has higher quality meat on the island than the two locations of Carniceria Rosita — Coxen Hole and French Harbour.

Low tide is 3:50 p.m., but should be pretty mild. Have a great Tuesday.

Good morning Bay Islands. We have a gorgeous sunset sent to us by Guadalupe Alvarez Montserrat as our photo of the day. I think that might be a mermaid in the front of the photo. We have three nice days coming up and then, probably Friday, a tropical wave that the National Hurricane Center has identified as an area for investigation.

We have clear skies overhead at 7 a.m. and a few popcorn clouds to the east of Guanaja. They are moving west, but it is unlikely they will make it to the islands with any rain. This afternoon we will be partly cloudy and we will have a 20 percent chance of an evening shower.

Tuesday and Wednesday look very similar, as does Thursday, except Thursday we should have increasing clouds as the tropical wave gets closer and gives us a good chance at a rainy Friday and perhaps Saturday morning.

Here is the map from the National Hurricane Center. It shows a 30 percent chance of tropical development (at least a tropical depression) over the next 7 days. The computer models aren’t as strong on this storm as they were two days ago when I did the video on it, but we should still keep an eye on it.

The arrow points to where the storms are now, crossing over the Lesser Antillies.

Wind and Galaxy Wave forecast: We wake up to 10 mph east winds and 2 foot seas south side. Winds should stay around there throughout today, increasing to 15-20 mph east winds and 3 foot seas overnight. Tuesday we will have 15 mph east winds and 2 foot seas. Wednesday and Thursday look quite calm. What happens Friday depends on how the storm develops.

With calm seas it is a great week to take advantage of the special Galaxy Wave is still running — just $25 each way to La Ceiba. Get your shopping and medical visits done before the possible storm comes on Friday.

Low tide is 3:15 p.m. Have a great week!

Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day comes from Sue Jensen in Lucy Point and shows the calm bay right outside her house. Today we will enjoy a picture perfect Bay Islands day with calm winds and seas and no rain. Get out there in a boat, with a fishing pole, with a snorkel or with dive gear and enjoy it!

This is as clear as I’ve seen our satellite in a month. There are very few clouds out there and the winds are calm, so it will be a hot day. The airport had a high of 86 (30C) yesterday, but today we could easily get to 90 (32C).
Rain chances are quite low tomorrow and maybe 20 percent Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday we will have increasing clouds and maybe a rainy day on Friday.

Wind and Galaxy Wave forecast: Today will be a dead calm day. Tomorrow we have southeast winds 10-15 mph and seas 1-2 feet southside. Tuesday winds will be from the east at 15 mph and 2 foot seas. Wednesday and Thursday look quite calm, perhaps the calm before the storm that may be coming Friday.

I did a video yesterday about the storm right now due north of Surinam in South America. It is heading west and will head into the Caribbean on Monday. Right now the models show it coming south, hitting the coast of Nicaragua Thursday and sweeping our way on Friday. This is a map of vorticity, the spin in the upper atmosphere. Right now it isn’t expected to become a tropical storm, but these things can change, so we’ll keep an eye on it.

If it’s Sunday, it must be Lobster Day at Ikigai by Robby Molina in French Harbour. It’s the best lobster deal on the island and Melissa Dixon will take good care of you and make sure that you get the experience you’ve been craving.

Low tide is 2:30 p.m. and tonight will be dark with no moon. Have a great Sunday!

We had a rainy July. Or at least it feels that way. The 6.59 inches from Sandy Bay we are putting in the record book is only about an inch above normal. Six and a half inches was about average across the island, though some locations including Guanaja got nearly 10. Strangely, the only working station on Utila only recorded 2.38 inches. That sounds low and makes me suspect some sort of malfunction, but you guys on Utila let me know what you think in comments.

Looking ahead to August, on average we start getting a bit drier at 4.4 inches on average. As far as the initial forecast goes, it looks like the first two weeks will be similar to July, so it is possible that we will be above normal again. August is also the first month we really start worrying about the tropics on the Bay Islands (Beryl was a very early storm to come close to us).

I did a video Tropical Update. There is an area in the Atlantic northeast of French Guyana that we should keep an eye on. If it develops, next Friday and Saturday would be days to watch out for.

Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day comes from Jeffrey Hill who, ironically, lives up the hill from me in Jonesville Point. This was a waterspout yesterday morning that was the first waterspout I had actually seen in my five and a half years in Roatan.
We have some showers around this morning. The dry conditions we’ve been expecting are coming, they are just coming later than we thought. Tonight through tomorrow and most of Monday should be dry and, at least for the evening and tomorrow, fairly calm.

This morning you probably heard some thunder, especially on the west side. The strongest storms are moving south away from the island at 7:30 a.m., but a few stubborn clouds are hanging on. We will keep a chance of showers through the morning hours, but we should have a very low chance of rain this afternoon and evening and near zero chances tonight and tomorrow. Chance of rain Monday is around 20 percent and 30 percent Tuesday and Wednesday. Rain chances look better for Thursday into next Saturday.

Here are rain totals since midnight. Those storms kind of danced around West Bay and West End, giving them minimal rain.

Wind and Galaxy Wave forecast: We wake up to 10-15 mph WEST winds. That’s the first time I’ve said that in a long time. Those winds are giving us 2 foot seas north and west sides. This afternoon through tomorrow those winds should calm down and I’m still looking for near flat calm conditions the rest of the weekend.
Winds will get back to 15 mph from the east/southeast on Monday and seas 2-3 feet, but next week winds and seas look very moderate to calm some days.

If you are a cruiser planning your excursion, the seas will be awesome, any showers should be brief and Jolly Roger Roatan will give you the best time possible and get you back on ship on time.

Low tide is 2:20 p.m. and we are getting close to new moon phase. Have a great weekend!

Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day today comes from Martin Fickinger, an actual professional photographer with VickiVision. He does weddings and all sorts of special events. This photo catches a nice storm just off the coast of Sandy Bay. We won’t have many storms to worry about this weekend.

On satellite at 6:30 a.m. we see a few popcorn clouds, especially to the southeast of Oakridge. It is possible some of us will see a small shower this morning, but it won’t amount to much. Otherwise we should be partly cloudy. Through the weekend rain chances will be fairly low. Today we will have a 30 percent chance of seeing a shower, tonight there will be a 40 percent chance of a thundershower. Over the weekend, rain chances will be 20 percent each day.

Wind and Galaxy Wave forecast: A big story this weekend will be calm winds and seas. We wake up to winds 0-5 mph and seas around 2 feet. Winds will be light and variable all weekend and seas mostly around 1 foot. For weeks I’ve been saying all the winds have been from the east, but what little wind we get this weekend will often be from the north or west, so when we get 1-2 foot seas, that will also be on the north side. But all in all a great weekend for boating, diving and snorkeling.

Congratulations to the winner of the July Photo of the Month contest, Audrey Imfeld, who wins a roundtrip ticket to Guanaja on Galaxy Wave. This will be a great weekend to take the ferry with calm seas around the island.

Don’t forget to send your photos to bookmybio@gmail.com so they come in with high resolution. Include name of photographer and location. Winner get a free dental cleaning at Dilbert-Thompson Dental Clinic in French Harbour.

Low tide is 2 p.m. Have a great Friday!

Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day comes from Audrey Imfeld in Sandy Bay and shows great reflections at sunset. Sandy Bay is my favorite beach on the island. Only drawback is they let people drive on it. We’re looking at the possibility of afternoon showers.

Here’s the rainfall totals since midnight for the west side and Utila. I didn’t include the east side and Guanaja because we got nothing.

The little dots of white I like to call popcorn clouds brought the rain this morning. We will keep a chance of rain through the morning, though they should decrease toward midday. The Euro want to give us a round of rain between 3 and 6 p.m. I’m usually suspicious of rain forecasts in the afternoon during summer, but keep your eye out. We will continue to have rain chances, especially overnight and in the morning Tuesday and Wednesday but as we get toward the weekend, things look drier.

Wind and Galaxy Wave forecast: We wake up to 15 mph east winds and seas 2-3 feet south side. We will stay right around those numbers today and tomorrow. Thursday looks a bit calmer, but we are still looking at dead calm conditions Friday through Sunday. With lower rain chances, Friday through Sunday look like perfect days to go out boating, fishing or snorkeling.

Just a quick mention about the potential tropical storm for The Bahamas. The storms look very weak right not and might not survive. I’ll be a little surprised if The Bahamas see anything major out of this.

With perfect water conditions, this weekend will be a great time to take that shopping trip to La Ceiba and Galaxy Wave is still offering its special price of $25 each way. Head over to roatanferry.com or one of the authorized ticket agents to make your purchase.

Low tide is 11:40 a.m. Have a great Tuesday!