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Tropical storm Ernesto is gradually moving away from the Iles du Nord, which it approached at its closest (around 90 kilometers) at around 3pm on Tuesday August 13. As a result, Vincent Berton, the Prefect Delegate for Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin, announced shortly after 5.30pm that cyclonic vigilance had been lifted. However, in view of the heavy swell, the yellow vigilance level for "heavy rain and thunderstorms" as well as "violent winds" and the orange level for "waves and submersion" have been activated (see below). As a reminder, the prefecture has issued an order banning all nautical activities until further notice. Vincent Berton has specified that this measure will remain in force tomorrow, at least in the morning. It is also advisable to bear in mind that swimming in most of Saint-Barthélemy's bays is strongly discouraged in the days following episodes of heavy rainfall, due to the pollution of the bays caused by rainwater run-off.
The highest wind gust that could be - officially - recorded on Saint-Barthélemy was 126 km/h, said the préfet délégué. In Saint-Martin, it was 134 km/h. In his speech, Vincent Berton emphasized that the intensity of the winds would diminish over the coming hours. However, they will remain close to 80 km/h, gradually dropping to an average of 55 km/h. As for precipitation, Berton assures us that it should be "very limited". Even so, since 6 p.m. it has been raining non-stop on Saint-Barth. In its latest bulletin, however, Météo France points out that the rain will continue well into the night. "The only concern now is the swell," insisted the préfet délégué. In fact, the deterioration in sea conditions (with significant waves of up to 5 meters) observed this Tuesday will not improve in the immediate future. At the very least, not until tomorrow morning. The main consequence of this is uncertainty as to whether the ferry companies will be able to resume inter-island services tomorrow. On the other hand, the management of Saint-Barthélemy airport has announced that it will open tomorrow morning at 7am. "It is understood that the companies will operate their flights according to the operational limitations linked to the current weather conditions", stresses Fabrice Danet, airport manager.
There were few incidents to report during this day of cyclone warnings. On Saint-Martin, a motorist was slightly injured when he unintentionally aquaplaned at the wheel of his vehicle. On Saint-Barthélemy, no one was injured, but some boats were adrift. Ships "anchored" at Corossol and Gustavia broke away from their moorings. Also in Saint-Barth, a few surfers too happy to ride the waves created by Ernesto's passage saw their joy disappear when gendarmes arrived and ordered them out of the water. This was due to the aforementioned prefectoral decree. Vincent Berton did not say whether the sliders had been fined or simply called to order.
