Hurricane season and jitters start now

This one is expected to be a doozy with 11 named tropical storms, seven becoming hurricanes.

By DAVID BALLINGRUD

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 1, 2000

The long Atlantic-Caribbean hurricane season begins today.

For the next six months, through November, Floridians will keep an ear cocked for news of approaching storms. We'll be Christmas shopping by the time it's over.

For the record, the National Hurricane Center reported no storm activity Wednesday.

For the record, the season is expected to be busier than the long-term average. The National Weather Service and noted hurricane expert William Gray have forecast 11 named tropical storms, with seven of those becoming hurricanes. Three are expected to be major hurricanes with sustained winds of more than 110 mph.

Last year, there were 12 named storms. Hurricanes Bret, Floyd and Irene and Tropical Storms Dennis and Harvey struck the mainland United States, killing 60. For the record, La Nina, a weather phenomenon that has contributed to two consecutive busy storm seasons, is waning. But it is still around.

At the Hurricane Center in Miami-Dade County, storm specialists began standing storm-season watches May 15, the beginning of the typhoon season in the Eastern Pacific. Their attention now turns to the east, to the Atlantic, the Caribbean and the plains of Africa where storms are born.

Government officials have been getting ready, too. The final revision of the hurricane shelter map was posted Wednesday on a wall in the Emergency Operations Center in Pinellas County, and similar tidying up was taking place in EOCs all around the state.

Now we wait.

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