Text 21629, 60 rader
Skriven 2006-08-04 19:22:00 av Jeff Binkley (1:226/600)
Ärende: Hurricanes
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I'll bet this pisses the liberals off.  They were wishing for bad times 
this year for Americans in the hurricane belt...  But they are still 
hoping and praying...

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http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20060804/a_hurricanes04.art.ht
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Hurricane season defying forecasts 
By John Ritter
USA TODAY 

So far the 2006 hurricane season has been quiet, but forecasters warn 
there's still plenty of time for devastating storms to develop heading 
into the peak months of August, September and October.

Last year, the most intense in more than a century of hurricane record-
keeping, was an anomaly, says National Weather Service meteorologist 
Dennis Feltgen. 

There were 28 named storms, more than double the seasonal average. Three 
reached the strongest intensity, Category 5, with winds greater than 155 
mph. Four hit the U.S. coast, including Katrina, which devastated New 
Orleans and the Mississippi coast.

In the past two years, 13 major hurricanes have struck southern and 
eastern coastal regions.

Three tropical storms this year — most recently the waning Chris — have 
failed to become hurricanes. The National Hurricane Center in Miami 
predicted Tropical Storm Chris, with 40-mph winds, would maintain its 
strength until it reached Cuba, likely by Saturday.

Thursday, hurricane researcher William Gray at Colorado State University 
said the season won't be as bad as he had predicted. Gray and his 
forecast team reduced the number of expected hurricanes from nine to 
seven and said a monster storm like Katrina is unlikely.

In May, government forecasters predicted 13 to 16 tropical storms, eight 
to 10 of which could grow into hurricanes, during the six-month Atlantic 
hurricane season that started June 1. The hurricane center will update 
its forecast Tuesday. 

Conditions were favorable for hurricane development much earlier last 
year than is typical, and they persisted, producing a record number of 
storms. Those conditions — warmer sea-surface temperatures and the 
absence of high-altitude, west-to-east wind shear that breaks up storms 
as they're forming — weren't repeated this June and July.

“All of the ingredients that were in place last year simply weren't this 
year,ö Feltgen said. “Now winds are lightening up, sea surfaces are 
warming, and all the conditions are becoming quite favorable for 
activity to really take off like it's supposed to this time of year.ö



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