Regis Philbin
May 22nd, 2007, 08:18 PM
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070522/ap_on_re_us/hurricane_forecast
Coasts brace for a busy hurricane season
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer
Tue May 22, 6:33 PM ET
WASHINGTON - Hurricane forecasters expect more tropical storms than normal this season, and "it just takes one to make it a bad year," says Conrad Lautenbacher, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
National Weather Service forecasters said Tuesday they expect 13 to 17 tropical storms, with seven to 10 of them becoming hurricanes and three to five of them in the strong category. NOAA is the parent agency of the weather service.
David Paulison, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said what keeps him up at night is concern about individual preparedness.
"If we are going to survive these storms it takes all of us to be ready," Paulison said, urging that the millions of residents in vulnerable areas prepare their homes for the storms and keep at least three days food and supplies on hand.
After the battering by storms Katrina and Rita in 2005 there were widespread fears last summer of another powerful storm striking, but the unexpected development of the El Nino climate phenomenon helped dampen conditions.
El Nino is a warming of the tropical Pacific Ocean that occurs every few years. The warm water affects wind patterns that guide weather movement and its effects can be seen worldwide. In El Nino years, there tend to be fewer summer hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean.
Coasts brace for a busy hurricane season
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer
Tue May 22, 6:33 PM ET
WASHINGTON - Hurricane forecasters expect more tropical storms than normal this season, and "it just takes one to make it a bad year," says Conrad Lautenbacher, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
National Weather Service forecasters said Tuesday they expect 13 to 17 tropical storms, with seven to 10 of them becoming hurricanes and three to five of them in the strong category. NOAA is the parent agency of the weather service.
David Paulison, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said what keeps him up at night is concern about individual preparedness.
"If we are going to survive these storms it takes all of us to be ready," Paulison said, urging that the millions of residents in vulnerable areas prepare their homes for the storms and keep at least three days food and supplies on hand.
After the battering by storms Katrina and Rita in 2005 there were widespread fears last summer of another powerful storm striking, but the unexpected development of the El Nino climate phenomenon helped dampen conditions.
El Nino is a warming of the tropical Pacific Ocean that occurs every few years. The warm water affects wind patterns that guide weather movement and its effects can be seen worldwide. In El Nino years, there tend to be fewer summer hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean.