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Hurricanes on the Cayman Islands

Hurricanes only occur occasionally on the Cayman Islands. On average, they happen about 4 times a year. The hardest hit cities are West Bay and George Town.

The hurricane season usually lasts from early June to late November.

The most severe hurricane to make landfall on the Cayman Islands in the past 12 months was »Ian«. It reached a wind speed of up to 152 km/h on September 26, 2022 at 4:00 pm local time near West Bay and was 79 kilometers in diameter at the time. According to the internationally accepted Saffir-Simpson classification, this corresponded to a category 1 hurricane. On the open sea, speeds of up to 259 km/h were measured (category 5).

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27.05.2023 © CIMSS University of Wisconsin-Madison

Most violent hurricanes on the Cayman Islands since 2018

Lisa: October 30 to November 5, 2022

Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 148 km/h
Diameter:
max. 259 km
Air pressure:
below 985 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
The hurricane did not make direct landfall on the Cayman Islands. On November 1st, 2022 at 10:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 302 km south of George Town.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near Barra Patuca in Honduras on November 1st at 7:00 pm.

Lisa: October 27 to November 5, 2022

Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 130 km/h
Diameter:
max. 370 km
Air pressure:
below 988 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
The hurricane did not make direct landfall on the Cayman Islands. On November 1st, 2022 at 1:00 pm it had the shortest distance at about 304 km south of George Town.

Ian: September 22 to October 1, 2022

Region:
Gulf of Mexico
Wind speed:
max. 259 km/h
on land:
max. 152 km/h
Diameter:
max. 845 km
Air pressure:
below 937 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 5
Most Affected Cities
George Town
West Bay

Ian: September 19 to October 2, 2022

Region:
Gulf of Mexico
Wind speed:
max. 250 km/h
Diameter:
max. 1482 km
Air pressure:
below 937 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 4
The hurricane did not make direct landfall on the Cayman Islands. On September 26th, 2022 at 7:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 98 km southeast of George Town.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near San Luis in Cuba on September 27th at 1:00 am.

Alex: June 2-6, 2022

Region:
Gulf of Mexico
Wind speed:
max. 111 km/h
Diameter:
max. 667 km
Air pressure:
below 984 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
The hurricane did not make direct landfall on the Cayman Islands. On June 3rd, 2022 at 4:00 pm it had the shortest distance at about 296 km northeast of West Bay.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near Isla Mujeres in Mexico on June 3rd at 1:00 pm.

Ida: August 26 to September 4, 2021

Region:
Gulf of Mexico
Wind speed:
max. 241 km/h
on land:
max. 115 km/h
Diameter:
max. 1778 km
Air pressure:
below 929 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 4
Most Affected Cities
East End
West Bay

Grace: August 13-21, 2021

Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 194 km/h
on land:
max. 130 km/h
Diameter:
max. 556 km
Air pressure:
below 967 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 3
Most Affected Cities
East End
George Town
West Bay

Fred: August 9-20, 2021

Region:
Gulf of Mexico
Wind speed:
max. 102 km/h
Diameter:
max. 556 km
Air pressure:
below 991 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
The hurricane did not make direct landfall on the Cayman Islands. On August 13th, 2021 at 10:00 pm it had the shortest distance at about 198 km north of North Side.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near Puerto Padre in Cuba on August 13th at 1:00 am.

Elsa: June 30 to July 10, 2021

Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 139 km/h
on land:
max. 102 km/h
Diameter:
max. 667 km
Air pressure:
below 991 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
Most Affected Cities
East End
North Side

Eta: October 31 to November 14, 2020

Region:
Gulf of Mexico
Wind speed:
max. 241 km/h
on land:
max. 102 km/h
Diameter:
max. 815 km
Eye:
max. 37 km
Air pressure:
below 922 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 4
Most Affected Cities
West Bay
North Side
East End

Zeta: October 24-30, 2020

Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 185 km/h
on land:
max. 96 km/h
Diameter:
max. 1667 km
Air pressure:
below 970 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 3
Most Affected Cities
George Town

Delta: October 4-11, 2020

Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 222 km/h
Diameter:
max. 852 km
Air pressure:
below 953 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 4
Most Affected Cities
East End
George Town
West Bay

Gamma: October 2-6, 2020

Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 120 km/h
on land:
max. 59 km/h
Diameter:
max. 593 km
Air pressure:
below 978 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
Most Affected Cities
George Town
West Bay

Nana: September 1-4, 2020

Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 120 km/h
on land:
max. 93 km/h
Diameter:
max. 444 km
Air pressure:
below 994 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
Most Affected Cities
East End
Bodden Town
George Town

Marco: August 20-25, 2020

Region:
Gulf of Mexico
Wind speed:
max. 120 km/h
on land:
max. 87 km/h
Diameter:
max. 667 km
Air pressure:
below 991 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
Most Affected Cities
George Town
West Bay

Laura: August 20-29, 2020

Region:
Gulf of Mexico
Wind speed:
max. 241 km/h
on land:
max. 102 km/h
Diameter:
max. 741 km
Air pressure:
below 937 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 4
Most Affected Cities
East End
North Side
West Bay

Isaias: July 28 to August 5, 2020

Wind speed:
max. 148 km/h
Diameter:
max. 1111 km
Air pressure:
below 986 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
The hurricane did not make direct landfall on the Cayman Islands. On August 1st, 2020 at 1:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 486 km northwest of East End.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near Nuevitas in Cuba on July 31st at 10:00 pm.


These evaluations are based on data from the National Centers for Environmental Information of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Individual data have been summarized or translated.
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