More Devastating Hurricanes Possible

[MountainLaurel]

Enmeshed as they still are in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, disaster planners and hurricane forecasters have no choice but to prepare for this year's possible foes: Alberto, Beryl, Chris, Debby, Ernesto and the rest.

snip

"I think a lot of people say you could never have the same death and damages as we did last season," Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center and Tropical Prediction Center, said during a break in the conference at the Johns Hopkins University campus in Laurel. "I'm here to say it could happen."

Nature is signaling another active season. La Niña is back, judging by telltale cooler water on the surface of the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Surface water in the Atlantic, meanwhile, is warmer. Conditions are similar to those recorded ahead of last year's record-breaking string of named storms, said David L. Johnson, assistant administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and director of the National Weather Service.

"I've got a bunch of hardworking scientists who are crunching those numbers right now" and aiming to make their prediction public May 22, about a week before hurricane seasons officially begins, Johnson said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/18/AR2006041801608.html

[hatrack]

1. 42 days and counting

And if you haven't been noticing sea water temperatures, these sites bear visiting.

http://www.wunderground.com/MAR/flm.html

http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/dsdt/cwtg/egof.html

[MountainLaurel]

3. Oh shit

Thanks for those post Hatrack. I haven't been following these things (personal upheaval on the horizon), but I'll definitely read through these: Since we're planning to relocate, the possibility of our home being underwater is something useful to know.

[Dr.Phool]

4. 80 fucking degrees already!!?

Off Clearwater Beach!!

Holy shit! It hit somewhere near 92 degrees last year.

I just went out and checked my unheated pool temp. It usually mirrors the Gulf temp pretty closely. 78 degrees.

[Dr.Phool]

2. Oh goody!!!

I've had everything, but a direct hit the last couple of years.