Before we know it, Hurricane season will be once again upon us. As a new homeowner I'm already starting to think about what supplies to buy as well as where to evacuate to this time, etc. I've lived in on the Gulf Coast my whole life, but I think that we all can agree that last year was an eye-opening experience. This was in the Chronicle today: Forecast: Hurricanes likely to target Texas coast Reuters News Service NEW YORK -- The Texas coast from Corpus Christi to the Louisiana border is likely to be the target of higher than normal hurricane activity over the next 10 years, private forecaster AccuWeather said today. The 2006 hurricane season will be more active than normal and could bring a devastating storm to the U.S. Northeast also, the forecast said. The outlook comes after the most costly hurricane season on record in 2005, with storms crippling New Orleans and other parts of the U.S. Gulf Coast and briefly knocking out a quarter of domestic fuel production. "There are now indications that the Northeast will experience a hurricane larger and more powerful than anything that region has seen in a long time," said Ken Reeves, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather.com. "The Northeast is staring down the barrel of a gun," said Joe Bastardi, AccuWeather.com's chief hurricane forecaster. The current storm cycle and above-normal water temperatures in the Atlantic are reminiscent of the pattern that produced the 1938 hurricane that struck Providence, Rhode Island, killing 600 people, Bastardi said. "The Northeast coast is long overdue for a powerful hurricane, and with the weather patterns and hydrology we're seeing in the oceans, the likelihood of a major hurricane making landfall in the Northeast is not a question of if but when," he said. Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and the Mississippi coast last August with winds above 135 mph and a 30-foot-high storm surge, causing more than $60 billion in damage. Katrina was followed by Hurricanes Rita in Texas and Wilma in Florida. Each wreaked more than $10 billion of insured losses, making 2005 the most expensive year for hurricanes ever. Bastardi said this year's storm activity will be above normal, but could be less active than 2005. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anyone else thinking about this yet?
Anyone have records of the prognostications for 2005? I would like to see if they predicted any big ones...
Last night for some reason I thought of the Rita thread that we had on here last year...I want to read through that again when I have time one day.
I dunno, I used to be blase' about hurricanes but seeing traffic dead stopped, with little children cooking in their cars on the Beltway right by my house was the most bizzare scene I have ever witnessed. 20 hours to Dallas, man. I think I'll be bailing out early from now on...at night.
I think after that whole thing last year, many people will decide to stick around the next time a hurricane threatens our area. Whether that is a good or bad decision will remain to be seen, but of course looking back I'm glad I didn't try to evacuate during Rita.
We got real lucky and found a place to stay in Brenham. I hear a lot of people say that this time they are staying...but, if a CAT 4-5 comes in anywhere near here, I'm gone. I've really never been one to get wrapped up in all that "Global Warming" talk, but in light of events like Rita, Katrina, etc. and all the wacky weather (even for Houston) that we've experienced lately it's hard not to take notice.
Predicting that the Texas coast is at risk in the Gulf is not much of a prediction. We have one of the longest coastlines in the region, so no shock there. A lot will depend on where high pressure decides to plant itself. We did get a hurricane in 2001 - it just wasn't very powerful. We'll get more near us and might even take a direct hit. No surprises there. For them to say it may be less busy than 2005...I mean, come on! 2005 was the most incredible hurricane hear on record. We've never had anything close to that many number of named storms. Normally, a busy year sees around 14 named storms with 8 hurricanes, 4 of those major. Last year, we had something like 27 named storms. It was unreal. If this year is anything like last year, it would be a huge shock. No need to read predictors at the moment. That time will come in May when the revised official forecasts come out. Those are much more accurate.
I read in my neighborhood flyer/newspaper that they are about to update the 100 year flood plain. I know I'm about 2 blocks away from being in the flood plain and I don't have flood insurance. The article was saying that you should add flood insurance now if you think you're about to be added to the flood plain, because after that happens, the price will triple. I'm going to call my insurance company in the next few days to add it.
Smeg? R U O K? http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060320/ap_on_re_au_an/australia_cyclone Thousands Feared Homeless in Australia By MERAIAH FOLEY, Associated Press Writer 51 minutes ago CAIRNS, Australia - Metal roofs littered streets, wooden houses lay in splinters and banana plantations were stripped bare after the most powerful cyclone to hit Australia in three decades lashed the country's eastern coast Monday. Amazingly, the storm caused no reported fatalities, and only 30 people suffered minor injuries. But the damage from Cyclone Larry, a Category 5 storm with winds up to 180 mph, was expected to run into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Hardest hit was Innisfail, a farming city of 8,500 people 60 miles south of the tourist city of Cairns in northeastern Queensland state. "It looks like an atomic bomb hit the place," Innisfail mayor Neil Clarke told Australian television. "It is severe damage. This is more than a local disaster, this is a national disaster." The town urgently needs accommodation for people whose homes were damaged, a power supply to feed hospitals and other infrastructure, he said. There was no official count of the homeless Monday, but given the number of homes badly damaged, the figure could run into the thousands, Clarke said. The casualty toll was so low because people left town or went to shelters after authorities posted warnings. Residents and officials were mindful of the damage Hurricane Katrina did to New Orleans and Mississippi last August, said Ben Creagh, a spokesman for Queensland state Department of Emergency Services. "Everyone here studied Katrina and took a lot of messages away, a lot of lessons at the expense of the poor old Yanks," Creagh said. "There was absolutely no complacency at the planning level at all, and I think that shows. ... Good planning, a bit of luck — we've dodged a bullet." Within hours of the storm's landfall, officials declared a state of emergency, prepared Black Hawk helicopters to run rescue missions and announced cash payouts for victims — $720 for each adult and $290 for each child who lost their home. Prime Minister John Howard indicated more aid was to come. Queensland Premier Peter Beattie said 55 percent of homes in Innisfail had been damaged, though rescue teams had yet to get full access to the swamped region. All roads into the town remained blocked late Monday. Innisfail Barrier Reef Motel owner Amanda Fitzpatrick echoed the mayor's damage assessment. "We could only go out in the eye of the storm and have a look and it just looks like an atomic bomb has gone off," she told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. Farmers were expected to be among the hardest hit. The region is a major growing region for bananas and sugar cane, and vast tracts of the crops were flattened. "It looks like someone's gone in there with a slasher and slashed the top off everything," said Bill Horsford, a cane farmer. One lawmaker estimated lost revenues could run to $110 million. The storm also barreled over a portion of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, damaging a narrow band of coral, said David Wachenfeld, director of science at the government body that cares for the reef. The reef is more than 1,240 miles long, and the affected area is only about 30 miles across and far from the places where nearly 2 million tourists a year gaze in awe at the coral's vibrant colors and fish life, he said. It would take 10 to 20 years for new coral to grow and replace the damaged area, he said. The storm was the most powerful to hit Australia since Christmas Eve 1974, when Cyclone Tracy destroyed the northern city of Darwin, killing 65 people. A man who answered the phone at an Innisfail evacuation center late Monday said it was too soon to estimate the number of people who lost their homes. "We are trying to collate at the moment how many houses have been destroyed, how many people we have in shelters," he said. "There are just so many people and so much damage."
I agree. That article merely got me to thinking about making preparations, etc. It's always sad that something like last year has to happen to get people to plan ahead.
