Time For Some Tropical Punch
Hey Gang,
Well it’s about that time of year again. The temperatures are a-risin’ and the oceans are a-churnin’ which could only mean one thing. Hurricane season has arrived!
Now if you can recall, last year’s hurricane season was sort of a dud. After a record-breaking 2005 that saw 28 named storms and 15 hurricanes, we only had 10 named storms and 5 hurricanes 2006. In fact, last year was the first time since 2001 that no hurricane made landfall in the United States. And after the devastation Hurricanes Katrina and Rita wrought in the Gulf in 2005, the fact that we had no storms last year was probably a blessing in disguise.
But enough about last year, I’m starting to wonder what this season has in store for us. And as I keep mentioning ho w slow things have been recently, I can’t help but feel like maybe I’m jinxing us a little bit. It’s like in baseball when a pitcher is throwing a no-hitter in the 8th inning and then the announcer has to point out to the whole world that Joe Schmoe hasn’t given up a hit yet. Then of course, on the next pitch – boom base-hit up the middle to break up the no-no. It’s bad karma if you know what I mean.
And if what we’ve seen so far is any indication, we could be in for a doozy this year. We’re only a few weeks into the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season and we’ve already had 2 named systems, subtropical storm Andrea and Tropical Storm Barry. Neither of them were particularly powerful, bringing only a few storms and flooding rains to the East Coast. But is this a sign of what we can expect for the rest of the year?
Well the good folks over at the National Hurricane Center seem to think so. They are predicting an active hurricane season with 17 named storms, 5 of which could become major hurricanes with winds over 111 mph. Plus, they say that there’s a 74 percent chance that a storm will hit the U.S. coastline. Now I’m no betting man, but a 3-in-4 chance is pretty good odds that a hurricane will hit us this year. So fasten your seatbelts and get ready for what could be a pretty eventful summer.
So what should you do? Now is the time to get prepared, before the Atlantic really starts to heat up. Here are a few tips on how best to prepare for any impending hurricanes. Make sure to stock up on water, canned goods and any other food products that don’t need to be refrigerated. Also, know your evacuation route and how much time it will take in case you have to hightail it out of town. You may also want to make a list of hotels and shelters in the area that are safely above ground and close enough to get to in times of an emergency.
But most importantly, keep it tuned to Weather Plus, the Today Show and your local NBC station for all of the latest info on any tropical systems that are headed your way. Stay safe!
-Al