It is well known by residents in the Atlantic, that it is better for the eye of a hurricane to pass either to the north rather than to the south, or perhaps pass to the south rather than to the north. (Of course, it is understood that that assumes equal distances to the north or south. All would agree that 100 miles to one direction would be better than 10 miles to the other!) There is good reason for this belief.
Consider St. Thomas and St. Croix, separated by 40 miles. Hurricane Dave is traveling, as nearly all our hurricanes do, from east-to-west. The eye passes exactly half way between the islands with a translational speed of 10 mph. The sustained winds at a distance of 20 miles from the eye are 100 mph. The animation to the right shows the 20 mile radius with colored balloons to help visualize what is happening. The colored balloons travel with the sustained winds.
What wind speeds do STT and STX experience? Remember that sustained winds are always measured relative to the eye. You should ignore the very significant effects of the islands' topology and assume both are flat.
[For a hint, consider wrong way Lenny in 1999, which traveled west-to-east. Those "in the know" wished for Lenny to pass to the opposite direction of what they would normally wish. ]
