The Season Preview

Now that we are into the hurricane season, it's time to get serious about what may happen this year and what we in the hurricane hunting business are prepared to do to bring better forecasts to anyone threatened by these storms.  

The experts have spoken, and the range of their predictions are:

12 to 15 named storms

6 to 8 hurricanes

0 to 4 major hurricanes (Cat. 3 or greater)

Remember.  These are educated estimates utilizing forecast conditions in the tropics, such as whether an El Nino of La Nina exists in the Tropical Pacific.  Basically they are forecasts based on forecasts.  Only time will tell how well the experts did in 2008.

To date there has been one tropical storm (Arthur) in the Atlantic Basin (Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico).  Arthur was short-lived, but caused a great deal of flooding in Central America.

In my next blog I'll discuss the NOAA aircraft and crews while giving you an idea of the types of missions we fly, the data we collect and how it is disseminated and used by our clients.

Next:  The Basics - Aircraft, Crew, Instrumentation and Preparation