At 1100Z, Emily was at 15.9N 76.3W and movement over the past few hours has been toward 290 degrees at about 16 knots. Emily is now at 120 knots and will probably stay at least that strong - perhaps even a little stronger since the core of the storm will miss Jamaica. It is possible that Emily could reach Category V intensity as she passes south of the Caymans. I'd estimate that Emily will be near 18N 82W at 17/0800Z or about 75 miles south southwest of Grand Cayman. Winds on Grand Cayman will peak out of the east to east southeast at 65 knots with gusts near 80 knots, or right on the borderline for Category I hurricane conditions. Seas will run six to eight feet higher than normal. Expect widespread power outages. Tropical Storm force winds can be expected starting this evening on Little Cayman and Cayman Brac and residents off all the islands should complete all of their hurricane preparations before 6pm. While not expected to be as strong as Hurricane Ivan of last year, Emily will still bring hurricane force winds to Grand Cayman during the early morning hours on Sunday so everyone should exercise good common sense and select a safe place to ride out the storm. I'd like to come back to my favorite western Caribbean Island knowing that everyone had survived the storm.
ED