NOAA adjusts Atlantic hurricane season forecast

Experts from NOAA have reduced the total number of hurricane level storms which are forecast to occur during this year’s hurricane season, but NOAA is stressing that it is still predicting an above-normal number of storms. NOAA scientists are warning organizations and businesses that this year's relatively quiet start is not an indication of what the remainder of the season has in store.

"This year's three named storms may pale in comparison to the record nine storms that formed through early August 2005, but conditions will be favorable for above-normal activity for the rest of this season—so we are not off the hook by any means," said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator.

For the entire 2006 season, which ends November 30, NOAA is projecting a total of 12 to 15 named storms of which seven to nine will intensify to hurricanes, including three or four becoming major hurricanes—rated at Category 3 or higher.

According to Gerry Bell, Ph.D., NOAA's lead seasonal hurricane forecaster, the major climate factors expected to influence this year's activity are the ongoing multi-decadal signal, which produces wind and atmospheric pressure patterns favorable for hurricane formation, along with ongoing warmer-than-normal sea surface temperatures. NOAA attributes these same factors to the current active Atlantic hurricane era that began in 1995.

Bell noted that conditions were ripe last year for early season storm development. "La Niña-like convection in the central equatorial Pacific during June and July of 2005 contributed to the development of numerous early-season storms," he said. "Conditions this year reflect a more typical active season, with peak activity expected during August-October."

•Date: 9th August 2006• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: Warnings
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