May 8, 2001 — More than 24 hours of almost continuous rain dumped over six inches of badly needed wet stuff on areas of St. Croix, bringing most activities to a halt on Monday.
The National Weather Service issued a flash-flood warning until 11 a.m. Tuesday for the island. The warning applies to creek and gut flooding and mudslides. By Monday afternoon, however, traffic around the island was already snarled by large areas of standing water and overflowing creeks across roads.
Starting early morning Monday, most public schools were issuing calls for parents to pick up their children because the rain was flooding campuses and had kept many staff and students away. Public schools were scheduled to be open on Tuesday, but most private schools were closed.
Monday’s weather caused scattered power outages around St. Croix and forced the cancellation of some early morning airline flights between islands.
The storm put an end to more than a year of dry weather on St. Croix, which received 30.97 inches, about 67 percent of the island’s average annual rainfall, in 2000. The lack of rain continued into 2001, with only a smattering of showers over the last five months.
Janis Arnold Dravenieks of Little La Grange in Frederiksted recorded just over 9 inches of rain in the 24-hour period ending at 6 a.m. Tuesday.
The weather service forecast for Tuesday called for mostly cloudy skies and rain. On Wednesday, skies are expected to begin clearing, with a 40 percent chance of showers.
