jellybelly
09-03-2008, 10:30 AM
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Atlantic storm activity is growing as Hurricane Hanna drenched the Bahamas and Tropical Storm Ike sped westwards, with a new tropical depression forming near the Cape Verde Islands off Africa.
A National Guardsman on the streets of New Orleans
They are following in the wake of Hurricane Gustav, which began to wane after slamming ashore on the Gulf Coast near New Orleans.
The new tropical storms threaten vast areas from South Carolina to the islands of the Caribbean.
They represent worrying news for US oil and natural gas producers in the Gulf of Mexico as well as residents.
US officials have forecast that 14 to 18 tropical storms will form during the six-month season that began on June 1, compared to a historical average of 10.
The new tropical depression is already the 10th, forming before the statistical peak of the season on September 10.
Hurricane Hanna had weakened into a tropical storm as it swirled near Great Inagua Island, but the weakening was likely to be short-lived, the US National Hurricane Centre said.
Hanna's 70mph winds meant it was just short of being a Category 1 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of storm intensity.
Its slow movement, however, meant it was dumping torrential rains on the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos islands.
The Miami-based hurricane centre said: "Although little change in strength is expected during the next 24 hours, Hanna could regain hurricane strength later today or tomorrow."
The storm was expected to turn to the northwest and come ashore at the end of the week somewhere between northern Florida and the Carolinas as a Category 2 hurricane, it said.
The hurricane center had said earlier that Hanna could become a major hurricane by landfall.
Major hurricanes are those that rank Category 3 and higher and are the most dangerous. Hurricane Katrina was a Category 3 when it swept ashore and flooded New Orleans in 2005.
Gustav was also a Category 3 shortly before landfall but weakened before it hit on Monday. Nevertheless, at least eight people are thought to have been killed as it swept through Louisiana.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said preparations were under way on the Gulf Coast as Hanna headed towards it.
He added: "It's a little early to tell where Ike is going to go, but we clearly have to be getting ready for Hanna and we're working with the states in the potential target area to make sure they're getting ready to do what they have to do."
http://news.sky.com/
Atlantic storm activity is growing as Hurricane Hanna drenched the Bahamas and Tropical Storm Ike sped westwards, with a new tropical depression forming near the Cape Verde Islands off Africa.
A National Guardsman on the streets of New Orleans
They are following in the wake of Hurricane Gustav, which began to wane after slamming ashore on the Gulf Coast near New Orleans.
The new tropical storms threaten vast areas from South Carolina to the islands of the Caribbean.
They represent worrying news for US oil and natural gas producers in the Gulf of Mexico as well as residents.
US officials have forecast that 14 to 18 tropical storms will form during the six-month season that began on June 1, compared to a historical average of 10.
The new tropical depression is already the 10th, forming before the statistical peak of the season on September 10.
Hurricane Hanna had weakened into a tropical storm as it swirled near Great Inagua Island, but the weakening was likely to be short-lived, the US National Hurricane Centre said.
Hanna's 70mph winds meant it was just short of being a Category 1 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of storm intensity.
Its slow movement, however, meant it was dumping torrential rains on the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos islands.
The Miami-based hurricane centre said: "Although little change in strength is expected during the next 24 hours, Hanna could regain hurricane strength later today or tomorrow."
The storm was expected to turn to the northwest and come ashore at the end of the week somewhere between northern Florida and the Carolinas as a Category 2 hurricane, it said.
The hurricane center had said earlier that Hanna could become a major hurricane by landfall.
Major hurricanes are those that rank Category 3 and higher and are the most dangerous. Hurricane Katrina was a Category 3 when it swept ashore and flooded New Orleans in 2005.
Gustav was also a Category 3 shortly before landfall but weakened before it hit on Monday. Nevertheless, at least eight people are thought to have been killed as it swept through Louisiana.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said preparations were under way on the Gulf Coast as Hanna headed towards it.
He added: "It's a little early to tell where Ike is going to go, but we clearly have to be getting ready for Hanna and we're working with the states in the potential target area to make sure they're getting ready to do what they have to do."
http://news.sky.com/