November 22, 2024
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Deep Something

The site for ranting and reporting by John Masters

Environment Science Weather 

Hurricane Season is Off And Running

B. John 132 Views

Dennis_2005-07-05.gifWe’re off and running with the 2005 hurricane season. This is the earliest ever for four named storms. Dennis has just become a named tropical storm.

The National Weather Service has provided the following information:

BANDING FEATURES ARE BECOMING BETTER DEFINED AND…BASED ON A DVORAK CLASSIFICATION OF T2.5 FROM TAFB…THE CYCLONE IS BEING NAMED. THIS IS THE EARLIEST DATE EVER TO HAVE FOUR NAMED TROPICAL CYCLONES IN THE ATLANTIC BASIN.  THE STORM WILL BE IN A LOW-SHEAR AND HIGH OCEANIC HEAT CONTENT ENVIRONMENT FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS…SO FURTHER STRENGTHENING IS LIKELY.  THE OFFICIAL INTENSITY FORECAST MAY BE CONSERVATIVE AT THE LONGER RANGE…BUT THERE IS LITTLE IF ANY SKILL IN INTENSITY CHANGE PREDICTION AT DAYS 4-5.

This information is made available by the NWS no thanks to U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, who recently proposed legislation to prevent the NWS from providing this information for free on the web. Never mind that you have already paid for its collection, Sen. Santorum got a nice big campaign contribution from AccuWeather the day before introducing the legislation. (Coincidence? Sen. Santorum says it is…you decide.)

In a rare show of intelligence, the Florida Legislature had a couple of weeks back in early June that were “tax free” days for hurricane supply items. Things like batteries, gas cans, generators, candles, tarps, flashlights. I think this was smart because it raised recognition, and I think it caused some people to go ahead and stock up on some items.

We bought batteries and I actually splurged on a generator. Working from him, I really can’t go for several days without power. I do still need to get my cord put together for the connection, and more clearly label the items in the breaker box that I’ll want to have on and off during any outage.

Because of wide cone of the track now, I won’t be doing much to get ready right now, but will try to get the lawn mowed tomorrow, and some grocery staples laid in Thursday. In the best case, its at least a rainy weekend upcoming.

B. John

Records and Content Management consultant who enjoys good stories and good discussion. I have a great deal of interest in politics, religion, technology, gadgets, food and movies, but I enjoy most any topic. I grew up in Kings Mountain, a small N.C. town, graduated from Appalachian State University and have lived in Atlanta, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Dayton and Tampa since then.