U.S. government will begin granting loan forgiveness to cities devastated by the 2005 hurricanes

Katrina & Rita disaster loans to be forgiven for cities that had operating deficits for three full fiscal years following the storms.

Hurricane warnings coming faster in 2010

Computer and satellite technology has dramatically improved over the years and now the Hurricane Center says it will begin issuing storm watches and warnings about half a day sooner in the biggest change to its warning system in decades.

Here's the story.

Nine of the top 10 disasters in decade were hurricanes!

They caused 255 Billion Dollars of Damage. 

Good quick summary of the International Disaster Database from USAToday

The Dangers of a Quiet Hurricane Season

From the New York Times today....

This is an excellent read. Living in Florida and having now gone through relatively quiet seasons (in comparison to 2004-2005) for several years, you do become complacent.

William Gray predicts 'above average' 2010 hurricane season

Brace yourselves: Here comes another hurricane prediction.

An early forecast for 2010 calls for an “above-average” hurricane season, according to the Tropical Meteorology Project at Colorado State University.

The team expects 11 to 16 named storms, 6 to 8 hurricanes and 3 to 5 major hurricanes — ones with sustained winds of 111 mph or greater.

Today’s prediction marks the first time William Gray’s team at CSU has provided a range of storms in its December early season forecast. The report is the team’s 27th year of hurricane seasonal predictions.

Because the report is based on Atlantic basin conditions, the team says its forecast could change substantially by the start of the hurricane season, which runs on June 1 to Nov. 30.

Gray’s team plans to list specific numerical forecasts in its next forecast on April 7.

“The Atlantic basin has the largest year-to-year variability of any of the global tropical cyclone basins,” Phil Klotzbach, the team’s leader, said in a release.

A weakening El Nino will allow more hurricanes to form, the team predicts. El Nino is a pattern of warmer-than-usual water in the Pacific Ocean, near the equator. The pattern creates more wind shear over the Atlantic, which breaks up tropical storms as they form.
“We anticipate the current El Nino event to dissipate by the 2010 hurricane season,” Gray said in the release, “and warm sea surface temperatures are likely to continue being present in the tropical and North Atlantic during 2010 — conditions that contribute to an above-average season.”

Their forecast is based on a statistical prediction scheme that uses 58 years of “hindcast” data. Over that time period, the scheme correctly forecasted above- or below-average seasons in 44 out of 58 years, the team said.

For the 2010 Atlantic basin hurricane season, the CSU hurricane forecast team expects:

# A 64 percent chance that at least one major hurricane will make landfall on the U.S. coastline in 2010. The long-term average probability is 52 percent.

# 40 percent chance (the long-term average is 31 percent) of a major hurricane making landfall along the U.S. East Coast, including the Florida Peninsula.

# A 40 percent chance (the long-term average is 30 percent) of a major hurricane making landfall along the Gulf Coast, from the Florida Panhandle west to Brownsville.

The full report.

Hurricane Season Ends Today. Thanks El Niño!

9 Named Storms, 3 Hurricanes, No Florida Landfall.

Quietest season since 1997 and now 4 years from the last named storm hit Florida (Wilma). As a matter of fact, the latest Hurricane ever to strike the United States was on this day in 1925 right near here, just south of Tampa Bay.

Here's the Tampa Tribune's recap of the 2009 Hurricane season.

60 Days Left in the 2009 Hurricane Season - Keeping our fingers crossed

Focus now moves from the Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico where late season storms tend to generate.   Water temps are peaking and history shows that the west coast of Florida needs to keep its eyes pointed west for the next couple of months!

First 2010 Hurricane Forecast

Update: Here's a link to Dr. Gray & Phil Klotzbach first 2010 Hurricane Forecast

Today marks the peak of the 2009 Hurricane season. So far we've had 6 of the 10 named storms predicted and 2 of the 3 Hurricanes, both major (Bill & Fred).*

Luckily they've all stayed away from the US mainland.

Ironically the Old Farmer's Almanac is out today with a prediction for a major hurricane to hit Florida in 2010.

* These are the latest forecasts from Dr. William Gray and Dr. Phil Klotzbach at the Colorado State University Tropical Meterorology Project.

Hurricanes and your vacation: What to do when a hurricane hits - Examiner.com

Hurricanes and your vacation: What to do when a hurricane hits - Examiner.com: "

Examiner.com

Hurricanes and your vacation: What to do when a hurricane hits Examiner.com The PDF also points out that, "For an average week during hurricane season, the probability of a Florida Keys visitor needing to evacuate because of a storm ...

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The New Price of Paradise

This article sums up the cost the Summer of 2004's quadruple strike, which walloped wallets and nerves, had on life in Florida.