Episode 1 - Good weather, bad weather

Is rain considered good weather or bad weather?

On a dry island like St.Martin, we sometimes welcome rain gladly after too many blazing days, but too much of it can have destructive consequences, as we know it too well in this region where storms and hurricanes leave their mark on the land and in the memories.

Given how used we are nowadays to weather reports warning us about hurricanes, to having access to resisting material and technology in general, one may wonder what was hurricane and dry seasons like a few decades ago?

In this episode, Jeanine and Etina Arnell, Frantz and Fabien Gumbs, Olga and Rosette Gumbs, Alicia Weinum, and Ginette and Mercedes Fleming tell us about dealing with St.Martin's climate, from hurricanes to droughts.

1:03 - Jeanine Arnell explains how her grand father and father knew when a hurricane was coming

1:39 - Etina Arnell adds that observing the sea can let us know what weather we're going to have. "If the sea is glossy, a hurricane is coming"

2:03 - Frantz and Fabien Gumbs tell us about his first hurricane, Donna is 1960

2:16 - Olga and Rosette Gumbs, sisters of Frantz and Fabien, also remember this.

2:22 - Frantz slept but Fabien, their sister Adeline, and their brother, stayed up to protect the house.

3:15 - Mercedes Fleming tells us about escaping Donna Gale. Her sister Ginette adds that they did not have many hurricanes during their childhood, as their main challenge was droughts

3:52 - Jeanine Arnell also remembers how dry the land is

4:07 - Alicia Weinum concords, there aren't many seasons on the island

4:25 - Ginette Fleming mentions the public pipes where they would get water from on buckets

4:39 - Alicia Weinum remembers going to the well

5:13 - Balancing the bucket on your head is not risk free! Ginette and Mercedes tell us about their experience

5:40 - Alicia Weinum explains the use of water collected in the wells vs rain water

6:05 - Olga and Rosette Weinum talk about the well in Concordia not too far from Marigot

6:34 - Jeanine Arnell mentions the Grand Bas well in French Quarter

6:40 - Ginette Fleming also remembers the Grand bas well, as well as the moho well and the well behind Yvonne Cocks house

7:02 - Jeanine Arnell talks about solidarity at the well

We're grateful for another hurricane season without a major hurricane and we keep in mind those who went through a trying season.