Hurricanes // Current TV

Social networking and micro-blogging for the hurricane season

One of the lessons Hurricane Katrina taught Mississippi, is being prepared by keeping... more

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'09 could see seven hurricanes

With the official start of Hurricane Season today, forecasters are calling for a "normal" year of 14 named storms that could threaten the eastern United States.

Of those, the National Weather Service predicts seven could become hurricanes, including up to three major hurricanes of Category Three or higher.

North Carolina has been spared a really bad storm for a decade, while states along the Gulf of Mexico have borne the brunt of nature's fury -- Hurricane Katrina being the most destructive and deadly example.

Ryan Ellis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Raleigh, said winds, ocean currents and other factors have conspired to push the storms along a more southerly track in recent years.

But it is not clear whether that trend will carry over into 2009. Early measurements are indicative of warm ocean temperatures that could yield powerful storms.

''Last year was a relatively inactive year overall," Ellis said. "Something they're looking at that could indicate this year will be more active is increased rainfall over western Africa. That's an indicator of storms being able to form there later in the year. Basically that gives another birth region for hurricanes. They can form in the Gulf, in the Caribbean or out of Africa, where they move into the Atlantic and then all the way across."

It has been 10 years since Hurricane Floyd flooded inland North Carolina counties all the way to Interstate 95, and 13 years since Fran cut a path of destruction into Raleigh.

Five years ago, Francis and Ivan caused devastating landslides and floods that killed a dozen people in the western part of the state.

Authorities say they have not been lulled into complacency by the state's recent good fortune.

Last week, the state's Division of Emergency Management coordinated with other agencies to hold a drill simulating how they would respond if a major storm hit the state. Though a large portion of the N.C. National Guard is currently deployed in Iraq, officials say they still have adequate resources available if a major storm bears down on the state.

''I've had a lot of friends deploy recently, and it's true there's a lot of manpower over there," said Mike Sprayberry, the state's deputy director of emergency management. "But we do a gap analysis and plan so that if we are down some equipment, we coordinate with other states to provide that equipment. Primarily, we're pretty good to go on the personnel side of things and we're good on our helicopters and aircraft and things like that.

''But all bets are off if we get a huge Category Four or Category Five. Like any other state, we would have to ask for some assistance."With the official start of Hurricane Season today, forecasters are calling for a... more

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First Tropical Depression of the season forms off the Mid-Atlantic Coast

The National Hurricane Center is projecting this depression to further develop into... more

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Hurricane Season 2009 projected to be less active than expected

After several years of above average tropical activity, consensus has grown that this... more

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Twitter hurricane travel information and simulating a hurricane prep

National Hurricane Preparedness Week begins May 24 and continues through May 30, but... more

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Hurricane-killing, space station.

______Wired______ "Solaren files a patent to destroy hurricanes as they form by... more

Get_Cape
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Hurrican Prediction: 2 Intense Storms, 12 Names Storms and 6 Hurricanes

Experts soften hurricane forecast, predict 2 intense storms Hurricane prediction: 12... more

ClipsFC
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Billion Dollar U.S. Weather Disasters In 2008

The National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) describes itself as the “Nation’s... more

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Fewer tropical systems expected in 2009 vs 2008

13 named storms expected in the 2009 hurricane season according to Accuweather.

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10 places already feeling global warming's heat

While some consider global warming a cautionary tale of things to come, its effects... more

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Hurricane Paloma Smashes Cayman Islands, Cuba Next

The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Paloma in the Caribbean has become... more

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What Weather Gurus Love Most

Discovery-News.com: What do two of the world’s greatest meteorologists think is... more

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Hurricanes erode Louisiana jobs

Twin strikes from hurricanes Gustav and Ike reduced Louisiana’s employment by as many as 17,500 jobs in September, according to the Louisiana Workforce Commission.

That jolt came in a month traditionally known for rising seasonal employment with the return of school-based jobs.

Cities below Interstate 10 were hit hardest by the hurricanes — Houma lost 2,800 jobs and New Orleans lost 2,600. Baton Rouge was the only city among Louisiana’s eight metro areas to post a gain, adding 1,300 jobs last month.

The state’s 17,500-job loss is an estimate that takes into account unusual fluctuations in the workplace. If the seasonal adjustment model’s effects are removed, Louisiana’s job change from August amounted to a 4,500-job decline.

That’s not what historical patterns have shown for the state. Hence, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics model showed the 17,500-job margin as an indication of how large a hit state employment may have taken, based on survey results.

The numbers will be revised next month. But a final benchmark won’t be seen until about March, when state and federal officials move from phone survey data used now to figures reported from actual employer payrolls later.

In the interim, state officials said a trend may emerge from survey estimates in the next two months.

The September job estimates were derived from surveys of Louisiana households and businesses the week of Sept. 12, the day before Hurricane Ike struck southeast Texas and affected southwest Louisiana. Those numbers may not include the full impact of both storms. Hurricane Gustav struck Sept. 1.

“We’re really going to have to look maybe two or three months out to see if this is really Louisiana falling more in line with economic trends in the United States, or if it was more the after-effects of the storm,” said Patty Granier, who manages labor market information for the state labor agency.

There are other indications that Louisiana’s job picture deteriorated in September. The commission established additional toll-free lines and expanded office hours to accommodate growing unemployment claims.

The number of unemployed Louisiana residents rose 10,000 to 106,000 in September, the commission reported.

This week, however, the state reported that a four-week moving average for initial unemployment insurance claims fell to 5,600 from 11,800 the prior week.Twin strikes from hurricanes Gustav and Ike reduced Louisiana’s employment by as... more

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Hurricanes protect Earth from global warming

Typhoons and hurricanes act as a natural pressure valve to help Earth resist global... more

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The First Lady Of Tropical Meteorology

Discovery-News.com: When hurricanes churn across the Atlantic Ocean, much of what we... more

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Hurricane Omar weakening as it heads out to sea

Hurricane Omar weakened Thursday to a Category 1 storm and sped away from the northern... more

goldenways
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Behind The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale

Discovery-News.com: Hurricanes played a big part in Robert Simpson’s life, which... more

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Giant Cyclones at Saturn's Poles Create a Swirl of Mystery

From the report: New images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft reveal a giant cyclone at Saturn's north pole, and show that a similarly monstrous cyclone churning at Saturn's south pole is powered by Earth-like storm patterns.

The new-found cyclone at Saturn's north pole is only visible in the near-infrared wavelengths because the north pole is in winter, thus in darkness to visible-light cameras. At these wavelengths, about seven times greater than light seen by the human eye, the clouds deep inside Saturn's atmosphere are seen in silhouette against the background glow of Saturn's internal heat.

The entire north pole of Saturn is now mapped in detail in infrared, with features as small as 120 kilometers (75 miles) visible in the images. Time-lapse movies of the clouds circling the north pole show the whirlpool-like cyclone there is rotating at 530 kilometers per hour (325 miles per hour), more than twice as fast as the highest winds measured in cyclonic features on Earth. This cyclone is surrounded by an odd, honeycombed-shaped hexagon, which itself does not seem to move while the clouds within it whip around at high speeds, also greater than 500 kilometers per hour (300 miles per hour). Oddly, neither the fast-moving clouds inside the hexagon nor this new cyclone seem to disrupt the six-sided hexagon.

New Cassini imagery of Saturn's south pole shows complementary aspects of the region through the eyes of two different instruments. Near-infrared images from the visual and infrared mapping spectrometer instrument show the whole region is pockmarked with storms, while the imaging cameras show close-up details.

Unlike Earth-bound hurricanes, powered by the ocean's heat and water, Saturn's cyclones have no body of water at their bases, yet the eye-walls of Saturn's and Earth's storms look strikingly similar. Saturn's hurricanes are locked to the planet's poles, whereas terrestrial hurricanes drift across the ocean.

"These are truly massive cyclones, hundreds of times stronger than the most giant hurricanes on Earth," said Kevin Baines, Cassini scientist on the visual and infrared mapping spectrometer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "Dozens of puffy, convectively formed cumulus clouds swirl around both poles, betraying the presence of giant thunderstorms lurking beneath. Thunderstorms are the likely engine for these giant weather systems," said Baines.

Just as condensing water in clouds on Earth powers hurricane vortices, the heat released from the condensing water in Saturnian thunderstorms deep down in the atmosphere may be the primary power source energizing the vortex.

Follow link for full article.From the report: New images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft reveal a giant cyclone... more

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Food Relief in Haiti

Residents of Haiti were already facing food shortages and rising inflation rates when... more

operationblessing
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Hurricanes may be associated with sunspots

A recent study suggests that hurricane intensity may be linked to the number of... more

bo6us
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