Re: Two More Months of Hurricane Season -- October could send even more woes our way

From: Amy D (amykae_at_joimailNOSPAM.com)
Date: 09/27/04 

Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2004 07:05:17 -0500

Psalm 110 wrote:

> http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/9762707.htm
>
> Posted on Sun, Sep. 26, 2004
>
> October could send even more woes our way
>
> Four hurricanes down -- but two months to go. Is it possible we could
> be seeing more? Don't bet against it.
>
> By DAVID OVALLE AND ANDRES VIGLUCCI
>
> Florida's incredible 2004 hurricane season -- four hurricane hits,
> three of them major storms -- is already assured of a starring place
> in the record books.
>
> Saturday marked the first time any state has been struck by four
> hurricanes in one season since Texas earned the dubious honor in 1886.
> It was also the first time since record-keeping began in 1851 that
> Florida has been hit by four hurricanes in one year.
>
> And it ain't over yet, folks. Not even close.
>
> Two full months remain in the season before its Nov. 30 close.
>
> Next up? October, which historically has been a busy month for
> hurricanes. And, yes, they've been known to make landfall in South
> Florida.
>
> Unlike Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne -- all born in the eastern
> Atlantic Ocean -- October storms are more likely to surge out of the
> northwest Caribbean and rake across South Florida from the opposite
> direction, slipping in through the back door, so to speak.
>
> Now pay attention to this next bit.
>
> Because we sit closer to where the October storms form, Miami-Dade and
> Broward counties and the Florida Keys have a better chance of getting
> hit than in September, said Jim Lushine, a severe-weather expert with
> the National Weather Service's Miami office.
>
> There's one small consolation: October storms tend to be weaker than
> September hurricanes.
>
> LONG WAY TO GO
>
> But don't relax just yet. Even some of those lower-category storms can
> wreak plenty of havoc.
>
> ''There have been several years in which we've had the September
> storms, with the strong winds, and the October storms come and produce
> the rainfall,'' Lushine said. ``It's kind of a double whammy, one-two
> uppercut type of thing.''
>
> Remember Hurricane Irene in October 1999? It formed south of Cuba and
> churned over the Keys and South Florida, killing at least five people
> and causing major flooding.
>
> And that was just a Category 1 storm.
>
> Nothing rules out a big one later in the season, forecasters say.
>
> ''The stronger storms usually hit South Florida in September, while
> the weaker ones, but still significant, hit in October,'' said Eric
> Blake, a meteorologist with the National Hurricane Center. ``However
> -- a big however -- you can still get very powerful Category 3
> hurricanes coming out of the Northwest Caribbean.''
>
> The forecasters aren't trying to scare people. They just don't want
> anyone to think that because Florida has been hit four times this
> season doesn't mean it can't be struck again.
>
> ''We've already gone past our quota when it comes to storms -- but
> there is no reason to think we wouldn't have one in October,'' Lushine
> said. And he was only half-joking.
>
> To be sure, this season has made history -- agonizing and tiresome
> history.
>
> RECORD-SETTER
>
> Since hurricane data began to be compiled in 1851, Florida has borne
> multiple hurricane hits in a single year several times, but rarely in
> such rapid succession -- and, until this year, never four times.
>
> There's more.
>
> On Saturday, when Hurricane Jeanne increased in intensity, it marked
> the sixth major hurricane -- defined as a Category 3 or higher on the
> Saffir-Simpson scale, with winds between 111 to 130 mph -- to develop
> in the Atlantic basin this year. (Alex and Karl did not make landfall
> as hurricanes.)
>
> That has happened only five times since 1851 -- most recently in 1996,
> when Florida went unscathed.
>
> The only thing that saved Florida from getting hit by four majors this
> year is the fact that Frances de-intensified to a Category 2 storm
> just before coming ashore in Martin County. Unfortunately, Jeanne did
> the opposite, strengthening to a far-more dangerous Category 3 storm
> as it bore down on the same area.
>
> Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center say they're not surprised
> by all the activity.
>
> As Floridians have now learned full well, experts expect busier
> hurricane seasons for years to come after a lull of several decades.
>
> The window for the stronger September hurricanes has now pretty much
> closed, Lushine said.
>
> As the summer winds down, high-altitude crosswinds increase in the
> distant Atlantic, typically shearing off the tops off the cloud
> formations that glue hurricanes together.
>
> Now say hello to October.

I honestly don't know how Floridians are maintaining any sanity. I'm
still suffering "aftershocks" of Ivan and we were spared any major
damage on my side of Mobile Bay. The anticipation in the days before,
preparing, anxiety during, and recovery and clean-up afterwards. I'm
beginning to believe Californians who say "earthquakes are better
because they happen with no notice and you deal with it". Most of
Florida must be "shell-shocked" and living in a daze.

Two more months.........

amy

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