No cyclone threatens the Northern Islands
The level of alertness is GREEN
General information on Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthelemy
The two northernmost French islands in the Antilles arc, as well as the smallest, form a meteorological territory known as the "Northern Islands" due to their proximity. Saint-Martin (SXM) has approximately 2 inhabitants in the French part and 35.000 more in the Dutch part, covering an area of approximately 4.000 km². Saint-Barthélemy, for its part, has a little over 93 inhabitants and covers an area of approximately 9.000 km².
Their exposure to the risk of cyclones is high due to their location north of the West Indies but their very small size means that they are much less affected than Guadeloupe and almost as much as Martinique. However, we note that the systems which pass over Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthelemy are globally more violent than those of the other French islands of the Antilles.
Of the 16 cyclones whose center passed over or near Saint-Martin and / or Saint-Barthelemy, there were 5 tropical storms (or downgraded), 5 category 1 hurricanes, 1 major category 3 hurricane, 2 major hurricanes of category 4 and 1 major hurricane of category 5, the infamous Irma in 2017.
The most significant cyclones on Saint-Martin and Saint-Barth
This is undoubtedly Irma in 2017. Passing over the Northern Islands as a category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 1 minute at 155 kts (287 kmh) and gusts of over 175 kts (over 320 kmh), it left indelible marks on both minds and infrastructure.
The human toll, the subject of considerable controversy, stands at 10 deaths, 7 missing, and 247 injured on the French side, and 2 deaths and 43 injuries on the Dutch side. The material damage amounts to the astronomical figure of 2 billion euros for two such small territories in terms of insurance. Irma is the third most powerful cyclone (tied) in the Atlantic basin and holds numerous grim records.
Unfortunately, it is not the only cyclone to have severely impacted Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy. Other hurricanes of infamous memory have affected these territories in the past, including the unimaginable Lenny , which crossed the entire Caribbean Sea in 1999 against the prevailing winds, making landfall on the Northern Islands as a Category 3, then Category 2 hurricane, as well as another devastating system, Luis in 1995, and more recently Gonzalo, which was very poorly predicted by meteorological agencies in 2014.
As we can see, the Northern Islands do not receive more cyclones than the other French islands, but they are often very violent.
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Did you know?
The northern islands have the record for the ACE (Accumulated Cyclone Energy) index in the Atlantic in terms of the number of inhabitants and km ².
With 16 cyclones passing over or near the archipelago, it is the least quantitatively exposed French zone. But at the same time it is the French territory which has suffered the most material damage in the French West Indies, far ahead of Martinique and a little ahead of Guadeloupe which nevertheless saw 10 more cyclones pass through.
| West Indian Arc | Northern islands | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct Impact | % bow | less than 30 km | % bow | Frequency | ||
| Total | 111 | 5 | 4.5 % | 10 | 9.01 % | 5.1 years |
| - Tropical storm | 79 | 0 | 0% | 5 | 6.33 % | 15.2 years |
| - Hurricane Cat.1 | 12 | 1 | 8.33 % | 4 | 33.33 % | 15.2 years |
| - Hurricane Cat.2 | 6 | 1 | 16.67 % | 0 | 0% | 76 years |
| - Hurricane Cat.3 | 6 | 2 | 33.33 % | 0 | 0% | 38 years |
| - Hurricane Cat.4 | 6 | 0 | 0% | 1 | 16.67 % | 76 years |
| - Hurricane Cat.5 | 2 | 1 | 50 % | 0 | 0% | 76 years |
