All Entries in the "Past Seasons Articles" Category
The Season Is Not Over Yet
Here on Hurricane Tracking Sites we want to remind you that unfortunately the season isn’t over yet. There is a little area to keep your eye on by Hispanola. The latest NOAA advisory says:
ZCZC MIATWOAT ALL TTAA00 KNHC DDHHMM TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 200 PM EDT MON SEP 22 2008 FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC...CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO... 1. A BROAD AREA OF LOW PRESSURE CENTERED NEAR THE EASTERN TIP OF HISPANIOLA CONTINUES TO PRODUCE HEAVY RAINS OVER PORTIONS OF THE EXTREME EASTERN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC...PUERTO RICO...AND THE U.S. AND BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS. ALTHOUGH THE CIRCULATION APPEARS TO HAVE BECOME BETTER DEFINED TODAY...THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IS CURRENTLY POORLY ORGANIZED. THIS SYSTEM STILL HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME A TROPICAL DEPRESSION AS IT MOVES TO THE NORTH-NORTHWEST AWAY FROM HISPANIOLA OVER THE NEXT DAY OR TWO. HEAVY RAINFALL WITH POTENTIALLY LIFE-THREATENING FLASH FLOODING IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE OVER THE AREA THROUGH TUESDAY. INTERESTS IN PUERTO RICO...THE VIRGIN ISLANDS...HISPANIOLA...THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS...AND THE SOUTHEASTERN BAHAMAS SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF THIS SYSTEM AND PRODUCTS ISSUED BY THEIR LOCAL WEATHER FORECAST OFFICES. AN AIR FORCE RESERVE UNIT RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT WILL BE INVESTIGATING THE SYSTEM SHORTLY. ELSEWHERE...TROPICAL CYCLONE FORMATION IS NOT EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS. $$ FORECASTER BERG/FRANKLIN NNNN
We want to suggest that this time of year you need to be checking on the tropics on a regular basis. We have a feed set up on the right side of Hurricane Tracking Sites (NHC Atlantic Outlook) that will let you see what NOAA has to say about what’s happening in the tropics at the push of a button. If there is something out there, you can use the quick links provided to find out more about whatever going on. The best way to make good decisions is to stay informed!
A Little Break
Currently there is quiet in the tropics. It is nice to have a break after the last rush of storms. Millions of people either evacuated or prepared to evacuate which causes a lot of stress. Looking at the damage that Hurricane Ike did to so may people is a vivid reminder of how quickly everything can change. In a day, everything in life can be different. The peak of hurricane season is September 10th. We still have two and a half months before this season is over. I like it when I go to one of the hurricane tracking sites and I get this message:
No active storms. I like the sound of that. Of course the infrared satellite picture always makes it look like something is going on:
But, the National Hurricane Center says that the big red area is just a lot of rain and has a very low probability of flaring up in to anything else. One of the handy tools on this site for day to day use can be found on the right hand side of the site called NHC Atlantic Outlook. It is an RSS feed from the National Hurricane Center that gives you a quick graphic of the possibility of storm formation. We always like low probabilities. During this break in the season, don;t let your guard down. Check your hurricane supplies and your evacuation plans. One of the best things to be when a storm is approaching is ready.
Hurricane Ike Tracking Towards Texas
We are currently getting a lot of visitors to Hurricane Tracking Sites from Texas as Hurricane Ike approaches. This site originates in the Florida Keys. We often find ourselves in the “Cone of Uncertainty” so we understand what it feels like. Last Friday, we were in the middle of the cone with a projected category 4 storm. This is what the Friday 8 PM track from Ham Weather looked like.
By the time Monday came around, the storm had jogged well to the South and we ended up with Tropical Storm winds for a couple of days. My advice is to prepare for the worst and pray for the best. The storm could jog, fall apart, stall, or weaken. It could also have a significant negative impact like it has accross the Caribbean.
Living on a tiny Island, and having been through Cat 1 and 2 storms, having driven through the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Andrew in Miami and Homestead (A category 4-5 storm that we evacuated the Keys for) the realization of what a Category 4 could do had caused us to pack up everything we considered valuable and we were ready to evacuate. Then the storm weakened and went South. We were spared this time, but many people are dealing with the impact of the storm.
Our thoughts and prayers are with all of you in the “Cone of Uncertainty”. Take the advice of your local Emergency Management Professionals. We have listed some of the best hurricane tracking sites on the Internet on this site to keep you up to date with the latest information. New updates come every six hours from the National Hurricane Center at 5:00 am, 11:00 am, 5:00 pm, and 11:00 pm. Once hurricane warnings are issued, the updates come every three hours. Most of the hurricane tracking sites we have listed update very quickly. Stay informed and make good decisions. If you have any questions, use the Contact page and we will try and answer them for you. Also feel free to add any comments about what you are going through.
