Busy hurricane season predicted

The hurricane season starts next Thursday, June 1 and will end on November 30.

A report yesterday on CNN said the NOAA was advising coastal residents to “prepare, prepare, prepare” for a very active storm season.

The names of the storms will be Alberto, Beryl, Chris, Debby, Ernesto, Florence, Gordon, Helene, Isaac, Joyce, Kirk, Leslie, Michael, Nadine, Oscar, Patty, Rafael, Sandy, Tony, Valerie and William.

The NOAA explained that when a storm’s winds reach 39 mph, it is assigned a name and is designated a tropical storm. It becomes a hurricane when its sustained winds reach 74 mph or higher.

A category three hurricane has winds between 111-130 mph and can cause extensive damage.

The worst storm a category five, has winds greater than 155 mph and can cause catastrophic damage.

The Atlantic Basin has been in an active hurricane cycle which began in 1995.

A record 28 named storms, including 15 hurricanes made last year’s hurricane season the busiest, and one of the deadliest in the North Atlantic’s modern history.

The name Katrina, the 2005 category five storm which levelled New Orleans has been retired from usage.

Meanwhile, the current mixed weather in Trinidad and Tobago, is normal, said an official from the Meteorological Office at Piarco yesterday.

He told Newsday the mixed weather pattern signifies we are entering the hurricane season.

The official was unable to say whether or not rainfall would increase before the season starts.