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Here Come the Hurricanes!

Posted by in Hurricanes, Weather


Well, hopefully not.

June 1st represents the start of Hurricane Season in the Atlantic, and we almost got our first named storm, which would have been (and still will be) Ana, last week when the first tropical depression formed.  Fortunately, that system spun itself out into the Atlantic and never got enough power behind it to become a tropical storm.  (A storm doesn’t get a name until it becomes a tropical storm.)

This year’s storms will have this lineup of names:

Ana, Bill, Claudette, Danny, Erika, Fred, Grace, Henri, Ida, Joaquin, Kate, Larry, Mindy, Nicholas, Odette, Peter, Rose, Sam, Teresa, Victor and Wanda.

After that, they go to names from the Greek alphabet, a hypothetical that has become reality only once, in 2005.  That was a particularly long season, and I hope this one is uneventful.

Colorado State University’s hurricane forecast calls for 12 named storms, and 6 hurricanes, 2 of which are expected to be Category 3 or higher.  This is slightly down from their original forecast just before the end of the year thanks to the forming of a weak El Niño formation.  (Hey, if it’ll stop the storms, I’m happy to welcome El Niño!)

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued their forecast about two weeks ago, predicting 9-14 named storms, 4-7 hurricanes and up to three of Category 3 or higher.

With the highest prediction, NOAA’s, 14 named storms will only take us through Nicholas, leaving poor Odette out in the cold.

Not that I’m complaining.