Now keep in mind that in the end Marilyn was a Category 2 at landfall. Gusts are likely to have exceeded 155 mph given the strength of it. But the maximum SUSTAINED winds over land were at 105 mph. Therefore, the storm was labeled as a category 2.
FEMA retired the name Marilyn after that...over 100 killed...I have an old VCR tape that I took of the downtown area the morning after. The storm surge was HUGE...a BIG CoastGuard cutter was tossed up on the main waterfront road way out of the water and little 30foot sailboats were shoved 100+yards into the downtown area. No power for almost 3 months!!...It was like the frickin wildwild west...lol
I was living in St Thomas during Hurricane Marilyn, and I still live here. I have experienced 115 mph winds in a windstorm, and the winds that we experienced were much higher than those. A friend had with an anenometer which registered over 170 mph before it was ripped off. A 12" beam in my house was split in two lengthwise. Over 40% of our housing was destroyed. I can tell you from experience that this was no category 2 Hurricane.
I was there too! I road it out in the Hotel 1829 with the owner and his family and a young couple from Canada (that got stuck there on their honeymoon). And your soo right about the power of it..The FEMA boss stayed at the 1829 for a week or so after the storm and I was the only one working and running the restaurant (by lamps and candle light) so I got to know him pretty well...it was a Cat-4 but for some reason we were not allowed to talk about it to the press.
Its amazing how much damage that hurricane caused- even though it was only a cat 2 - up in the Virgin Islands. I don't know if it was bad building codes, the NHC underestimating Marilyns intensity, or the slow movement of the hurricane, but I saw film of damage on St. Thomas after this hurricane that looked like a cat 4 had blown through.
@StarmanUSVI and @allancaldera
Now keep in mind that in the end Marilyn was a Category 2 at landfall. Gusts are likely to have exceeded 155 mph given the strength of it. But the maximum SUSTAINED winds over land were at 105 mph. Therefore, the storm was labeled as a category 2.
HurricaneSalim 6 months ago
FEMA retired the name Marilyn after that...over 100 killed...I have an old VCR tape that I took of the downtown area the morning after. The storm surge was HUGE...a BIG CoastGuard cutter was tossed up on the main waterfront road way out of the water and little 30foot sailboats were shoved 100+yards into the downtown area. No power for almost 3 months!!...It was like the frickin wildwild west...lol
Hipster420 2 years ago
I was living in St Thomas during Hurricane Marilyn, and I still live here. I have experienced 115 mph winds in a windstorm, and the winds that we experienced were much higher than those. A friend had with an anenometer which registered over 170 mph before it was ripped off. A 12" beam in my house was split in two lengthwise. Over 40% of our housing was destroyed. I can tell you from experience that this was no category 2 Hurricane.
StarmanUSVI 3 years ago
Which hurricane was probably the worst you've been in?
HurricaneFreak30336 3 years ago
I was there too! I road it out in the Hotel 1829 with the owner and his family and a young couple from Canada (that got stuck there on their honeymoon). And your soo right about the power of it..The FEMA boss stayed at the 1829 for a week or so after the storm and I was the only one working and running the restaurant (by lamps and candle light) so I got to know him pretty well...it was a Cat-4 but for some reason we were not allowed to talk about it to the press.
Hipster420 2 years ago
@StarmanUSVI me too i say that at least was a middle category 3
allancaldera 1 year ago
Went through this~ We were in St.Thomas it forever changed me in ways only certain death can.........Yikes!
theallourdes1014 3 years ago
Its amazing how much damage that hurricane caused- even though it was only a cat 2 - up in the Virgin Islands. I don't know if it was bad building codes, the NHC underestimating Marilyns intensity, or the slow movement of the hurricane, but I saw film of damage on St. Thomas after this hurricane that looked like a cat 4 had blown through.
CyrusNixes 3 years ago