All Entries Tagged With: "hurricane"
The 2009 Hurricane Season is Coming!
Here on Hurricane Tracking Sites we are gearing up to get ready for a new hurricane season. For the site it means we are updating the links and checking to make sure everything is ready for people when they come looking for hurricane tracking sites.
For us personally, since we live in the Florida Keys and have been through quite a few hurricanes, it means getting prepared. We start our preparations in May. We buy some bottled water and put in our storage area. We make our annual clean up around the outside of the house and take all the stuff we have collected that we don’t really need to the dump. We make sure we have all of the storm shutters in working order. We trim back all of our trees. We fire up the generator and make sure that it is in working order. Having been through three hurricanes that knocked our power out for significant periods, I would highly recommend having a generator. I didn’t have a generator in the aftermath of hurricane Andrew and we didn’t have power for ten days. It was hot and miserable. A generator makes a huge difference after a storm. If you don’t have a generator check out the Every Generator site. Every Generator.com has the largest selection of generators online. Enjoy low prices and free shipping on most Brand name generators. Name Brands include Dewalt, Briggs and Stratton, Guardian, AC Delco and many more. We check out our flashlight and battery situation. We start buying a few extra canned goods every week and we start eating the items that have built up in our freezer over the last six months (if the power goes out, it is hard to keep the freezer running on the generator). We also want to make room to freeze about six one gallon bottles of water. These are very helpful for the first couple of days after a storm in keeping things cold, and then being a source of water. Then we pray that the storms will stay out over the ocean and not bother anyone.
Our hope on hurricane tracking sites is that you won’t have any reason to come to the site this season. But, just in case you do, we are here for you!
Using Hurricane Tracking Sites – Part 1
Helping you stay informed is one of the main goals of Hurricane Tracking Sites. On this site you can link to a wealth of information about hurricane tracking online. Today we are going to talk about how to get a heads up about what is happening in the tropics. It all starts with a daily visit to the NHC Atlantic Outlook feature located in the right hand column of the site. By clicking on that link you will get a graphic of what is currently being watched by the National Hurricane Center. This is today’s result:
The red circle means that there is a high probability that a storm of some intensity will form. One of the tools you can use at this point is on the HamWeather hurricane tracking site. They have an excellent model forecast feature that is posted way ahead of the other sites. You can find these models by going to the HamWeather site and looking for the following link:
If you click on the forecast link you will get a graphic of what the early models are saying about the storm. Remember that the models are not completely accurate. You are looking for some sort of agreement from the models. They are much more accurate as the storms get closer. Here is what the models are saying at the moment:
If this storm develops it will be called Kyle. Keep an eye on the tropics, staying informed is the best way to manage a hurricane season.
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!
