Forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are predicting a very busy hurricane season this year. A record number of storms are expected, with the first storm of 2010 already in sight. Fortunately it seems to be petering out to nothing but a gust of wind, but weathermen are basically saying "Buckle up".
What makes this worse news is that one or more storms could cross paths with the infamous "English spill" - the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico. The potential heavy weather could increase the current threat of polution and contamination for the Gulf Coast and the pristine Florida Panhandle coastline. Storm surges could push the oil miles inland to the coastal wetlands.
Apparently the reasons for the expected stormy season are twofold:
South Florida has experienced one of the longest, coldest Winters in decades, the coldest in Miami since 1981, and the 2nd coldest recorded Winter ever in Miami Beach. (We had a ball "picking" cold, limp iguana from the trees!) Now, water temperatures in the Atlantic is approximately 4 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than usual. Hurricanes feed of the hot air rising from the ocean - once a storm hits the Gulf of Mexico, they usually "explode", or pick up speed quickly, due to the warmer water.
Secondly, the El Nino wind conditions that discouraged storms last year, are absent in '10.
Hurricane season in the Carribean and Florida traditionally starts in June and ends around November.
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