STORM SEASON
NOAA predicts 'near normal' 2009 hurricane season
This season's storm forecast projects four to seven hurricanes, with one
to three predicted as major.
BY TRENTON DANIEL
tdaniel@MiamiHerald.com
Top federal weather forecasters on Thursday announced that the tropics
are likely to experience an active storm season -- one that could be as
active as last year's.
They predict a ''near-normal'' Atlantic hurricane season and plan to see
nine to 14 named storms, with four to seven becoming full-fledged
hurricanes. One to three will be major hurricanes, reaching Category 3,
4 and 5 designations.
Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and
others made their forecast at a news conference outside Washington, D.C.
The six-month hurricane season begins June 1.
''Our plan today is simple: We want the public to be ready for this
year's season,'' Commerce Secretary Gary Locke told reporters.
Locke was accompanied by NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco and Bill
Read, NOAA's National Hurricane Center director, along with a host of
federal officials.
NOAA officials said the forecast will be updated in August, normally the
busiest part of hurricane season.
The first storm of this year in the Atlantic, Caribbean or Gulf of
Mexico will be Ana, followed by Bill, Claudette and Danny.
Forecasters give a tropical storm a name when wind speeds reach 39 mph
(63 kph) and upgrade it to a hurricane when sustained winds reach 74 mph
(120 kph).
Major hurricanes have winds of more than 111 mph (179 kph). The same
type of storm is known as a typhoon or tropical cyclone in other parts
of the world.
Researchers at North Carolina State University say between 11 and 14
storms will develop in the Atlantic and six to eight of them will become
hurricanes.
At Colorado State University, researchers forecast 12 named storms,
including six hurricanes.
Florida was spared the worst of last year's hurricane season. Only
Tropical Storm Fay hit the region.
That was not the case for our Caribbean neighbors. Cuba and Haiti were
pounded by a succession of hurricanes and storms, resulting in heavy
damage and lost lives.
NOAA predicts 'near normal' 2009 hurricane season - Miami-Dade -
MiamiHerald.com (22 May 2009)
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/story/1060111.html
No comments:
Post a Comment