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Hurricane season’s second half could be unusually active

Hurricane season’s second half could be unusually active

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Environment, Outdoors.

CORTEZ – Halfway through a quiet hurricane season, it’s too soon to relax, as experts are still predicting above-normal 2022 Atlantic hurricane activity.

Atmospheric and oceanic conditions still favor an above-normal 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) annual mid-season update, issued this month by the Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service. The hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.

A timely rotating exhibit currently at the Florida Maritime Museum (FMM) titled “Caught in the Storm: 100 Years of Florida Hurricanes” revisits some of the worst coastal storms to impact the state – several of which hit locally.

An unnamed hurricane in October 1921 covered the Gulf coast in water from Fort Myers to Tarpon Springs, causing devastation to the Cortez waterfront.

“In Cortez, fishermen watched their industry be nearly swept away. The storm’s waves left behind mounds of debris tangled in nets where fish camps and docks once stood,” according to the FMM exhibit. “Left without markets to sell to, the fishermen created their own, some of which still remain on Cortez’s waterfront.”

The Cortez Public School, which still stands at 119th Street West and Cortez Road and is now the Florida Maritime Museum, is the highest point in Cortez and was used as a shelter during that storm, which had an 11-foot storm surge.

In October 1944, a major unnamed hurricane known unofficially as the Cuba-Florida Hurricane “struck the Bradenton/Sarasota area causing trees to fall across the road taking out power lines and disrupting all communications between the Keys and the mainland.”

Hurricane Alma in June 1966 was another storm highlighted in the exhibit, with the following recollection from Cortez resident August Antilla, “…by nightfall Ellen and I had purchased $12 worth of cheeses, cold cuts and candy, and we were looking forward to our cozy hurricane party, just the two of us. The radio was blaring continually… ‘Evacuate, Anna Maria Island. The tide will be 7 to 11 feet above normal.’ ”

The largest hurricane evacuation in U.S. history happened just five years ago in September, 2017 with 6.5 million people fleeing their homes in anticipation of Hurricane Irma. Hurricane track predictions included a “cone of uncertainty” with Irma; that cone covered the entire Florida peninsula. In an abundance of caution, many counties issued mandatory evacuation orders.

So far this year, the season has seen three named storms – Alex, Bonnie and Colin – and no hurricanes in the Atlantic. An average hurricane season produces 14 named storms, of which seven become hurricanes, including three major hurricanes.

NOAA forecasters have slightly decreased the likelihood of an above-normal Atlantic hurricane season to 60% from the May prediction of 65%, but more than 60% of hurricanes that make landfall do so after the peak of the season in September.

“We’re just getting into the peak months of August through October for hurricane development, and we anticipate that more storms are on the way,” NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad said.

“I urge everyone to remain vigilant as we enter the peak months of hurricane season,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said.

For more information, check out The Sun’s Hurricane Guide.

2021 Atlantic hurricane season names

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Hurricane Guide Archives.

Each year the World Meteorological Organization releases one of six lists of names for Atlantic tropical storms and hurricanes. If this year’s names sound familiar, that’s because they were last used in 2015. This year’s list will move back into rotation in 2027.

If a storm is particularly devastating, the name may be retired, like Hurricane Katrina, and replaced with a new name. If a hurricane season is particularly active and more than 21 storms form, the additional storms are named after letters in the Greek alphabet.

To be named, a storm has to have wind speeds of at least 39 miles per hour and have a rotating circular pattern.

This year’s names are:

  1. Ana
  2. Bill
  3. Claudette
  4. Danny
  5. Elsa
  6. Fred
  7. Grace
  8. Henri
  9. Ida
  10. Julian
  11. Kate
  12. Larry
  13. Mindy
  14. Nicholas
  15. Odette
  16. Peter
  17. Rose
  18. Sam
  19. Teresa
  20. Victor
  21. Wanda
Castles in the Sand

What’s in a hurricane name?

Written by Louise Bolger on . Posted in Business, Castles in the Sand.

Every year at this time we steady our nerves and go forward into hurricane season which tortures us from June 1 to Nov. 30. Not all storms during hurricane season are actually hurricanes; some of them are tropical storms, which can be just as deadly. But what about the names we give to these storms? Have you ever thought about how this happens?

First of all, a tropical system is named when it maintains sustained wind speeds of 39 miles per hour at which point it is officially a tropical storm. Many named systems never reach hurricane status, which is 74 miles per hour. Hurricanes and tropical storms began being named in 1953 in an effort to more easily identify specific storms when there are two or more systems active at the same time.

The storm names were originally only female until 1978 when male names were added. Names are in alphabetical order excluding Q, U, X, Y and Z and alternate between female and male names. Names are recycled every six years, and storm names that were particularly deadly or costly are retired and replaced. Thankfully, we’ll never have another Irma.

This year the names for the Atlantic Ocean storms are a repeat of 2013, the names are Andrea, Barry, Chantal, Dorian, Erin, Fernand, Gabrielle, Humberto, Imelda, Jerry, Karen, Lorenzo, Melissa, Nestor, Olga, Pablo, Rebekah, Sebastien, Tanya, Van and Wendy.

The first forecast for this hurricane season from Colorado State University is five storms with two of them reaching major hurricane strength. This is based on the cooler than normal sea surface in the tropical Atlantic Ocean providing less fuel for tropical cyclone formation and intensification. None of this, however, should encourage you to let your guard down; one of these two major hurricanes could easily have our name on it.

It’s time to assemble a hurricane kit that will help you if you stay in your home without power and also be portable if you have to evacuate. You should include three days’ worth of non-perishable food and water per person, a first aid kit, personal hygiene items, flashlights and batteries, a battery operated radio, cash and important documents (insurance policies and photos of your home, vehicles and vessels). Additional supplies can include a manual can opener, matches, books, games, pet supplies, coolers and ice packs and, most important of all, an evacuation plan for you and your family. For the plan, you should compile a list of hotels to evacuate to, as well as those that accept pets.

Batten down the hatches in your home by covering windows with shutters or wood, trim trees prior to storms, reinforce garage doors and bring in outdoor furniture and anything else that can blow into windows or siding. Tie down your boat with extra lines and remove canvas and sails that can unravel in a storm. Be prepared for the loss of power for a few days or longer. Make sure your cars have full tanks of gas and cell phones are fully charged. Fill bathtubs prior to a storm so there is water available for toilets in case water mains are impacted and again get some cash since ATM machines and banks will likely also be out of power.

Finally, my personal hurricane preparedness strategy is to not have a lot of food in the refrigerator, particularly raw frozen food. If a storm is coming, cook anything you can prior to the storm. It will last in coolers for a longer period of time and you don’t have to worry about rotting food in the refrigerator if you need to evacuate. Those of us who have lived in Florida for a long time are pros when it comes to hurricane season, however, it can never hurt to remind ourselves what needs to be done. Let’s hope we never get to Wendy, and she lives to be reinstated in six years. Stay safe.

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