Atlantic hurricanes could rev up any time now
Pastor Dale Morgan
Atlantic hurricanes could rev up any time now*
20 Aug 2006 18:31:04 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Jim Loney
MIAMI, Aug 20 (Reuters) - There has been little action in the 2006
Atlantic hurricane season so far, but that may be about to change.
Max Mayfield, director of the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami,
said there are signs of increased activity near the west coast of
Africa, source of the troublesome "Cape Verde" hurricanes that grow
powerful on their long trip across the Atlantic.
"The bell's going to start ringing here before long," he said in an
interview last week. "There's absolutely nothing that I know of that is
unfavorable (to hurricane development) in the eastern Atlantic."
Last year's wildly busy Atlantic hurricane season changed many people's
expectations, but it is perfectly normal for the first two or three
months of a season to be fairly quiet.
The storm season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30 and the worst part of it
usually is between mid-August and late October, with the peak around
Sept. 10. The average season produces about 10 tropical storms, of which
six develop into hurricanes.
Last year saw nine storms develop by Aug. 7, on the way to a total of 28
in a record-shattering season that lasted until early January. Hurricane
Katrina, the 11th and most destructive storm of the year, hit south
Florida on Aug. 25 and New Orleans on Aug. 29, sparking massive flooding
in the Louisiana city and killing more than 1,300 people.
Hurricane Andrew, which was the costliest storm in U.S. history until
Katrina, was the first Atlantic storm of 1992 and hit Miami on Aug. 24
that year.
"We have a lot of years that don't really get started until the middle
or end of August," Mayfield said.
So far this year, only three tropical storms have formed -- Alberto,
Beryl and Chris. Strong wind shear -- the difference in wind speed and
direction at different levels of the atmosphere -- has disrupted some of
the tropical weather systems that eventually become cyclones.
Mayfield expressed puzzlement as to why the season hasn't been a little
more active.
"We're actually not sure why some of these are not developing," he said.