Andrea, Barry, Chantal, Dorian, Erin, Fernand, Gabrielle, Humberto, Ingrid, Jerry, Karen, Lorenzo, Melissa, Nestor, Olga, Pablo, Rebekah, Sebastien, Tanya, Van and Wendy
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its predictions for hurricane activity, ahead of the official start of the storm season June 1. In the Atlantic, NOAA forecasts an active season with 13 to 20 named storms. Seven to 11 of those storms, NOAA said, could actually develop into Category 1 or higher hurricanes. As many as three to six of them have the potential to become Category 3 or higher hurricanes.
NOAAs predictions for the 2013 hurricane season are comparable to those of other independent groups such as AccuWeather.com and Penn State Universitys Earth System Science Center. All cite a similar cocktail of conditions that set the stage for a more active season.
This year, oceanic and atmospheric conditions in the Atlantic basin are expected to produce more and stronger hurricanes, said Gerry Bell, lead seasonal forecaster with NOAAs Climate Prediction Center. These conditions include weaker wind shear, warmer Atlantic waters and conducive wind patterns coming from Africa.
In 2012, when hurricanes Sandy and Isaac made landfall, there were 10 named storms. Destruction from Hurricane Sandy was so great that NOAA is now rethinking its approach to storm surge forecasts.
Meanwhile, activity in the Eastern and Central Pacific was predicted to be below normal.
http://newswatch.nationalgeographic...ers-predict-active-atlantic-hurricane-season/
Hey everyone. This starts tomorrow. And just in time...
Potential First Named Storm in Gulf Ahead
Remember Barbara?
Hurricane Barbara came ashore in southern Mexico Wednesday, a rare May hurricane landfall on the Pacific coast of Mexico.
What does this have to do with a potential Gulf of Mexico threat?
Background
While Barbara's surface circulation dissipated one day after landfall, a weak low-mid level trough of low pressure remains, as you can see by looping our interactive satellite of the Gulf of Mexico.
Furthermore, surface pressures remain low in the southwestern Gulf and Bay of Campeche. Convection is, at times, festering near this "Barbara remnant" (shown by the the most vivid orange and red shadings in the satellite image above right).
For now, this festering area is disorganized, however winds aloft over the southwestern Gulf of Mexico aren't an inhibiting factor.
"Andrea" Next Week?
Numerical models which meteorologists use to diagnose the forecast are typically, and for good reason, taken with a bit of skepticism beyond five days in the tropics.
One of these models, the Global Forecast System or GFS model, has previously shown a tendency in the extended period (beyond seven days out) to spin up "boguscanes", a term coined by National Hurricane Center Senior Hurricane Specialist, Jack Beven in 1999 to describe model forecasted tropical cyclones that don't eventually happen.
In fairness, it makes sense that forecasting whether a cluster of thunderstorms will congeal and persist near a surface low pressure center in an unstable atmosphere lacking hostile wind shear five days out or more may be a challenge even for today's sophisticated numerical models.
With that said, seeing forecast trends and the large-scale pattern can at least give meteorologists an early heads up on a potential scenario.
Such appears to be the case next week.
If the "festering area" of convection persists and surface low pressure is able to form near the convection, a tropical depression or storm may form next week. Furthermore, forecast guidance suggests winds aloft may steer this entity toward the U.S. Gulf Coast late next week.
As you can see from the image above at right, this is a common path for named storms in the month of June.
http://www.wunderground.com/news/potential-gulf-tropical-threat-20130531
GFS is putting landfall on the Florida panhandle with the European has Andrea farther west towards texas.