One day into the 2007 Hurricane Season, and we've already got our second storm. Lets hope this won't be another year like 2004 or 2005.

June 01, 2007
tampabay.com
Hurricane season begins; hello, Barry
Hurricane season started Friday with the second named storm so far this year forming in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Cuba. At 5 p.m. Tropical Storm Barry had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph and was heading north. The National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm warning for the gulf coast from Keaton Beach in the Big Bend area south to Bonita Beach in Lee County. The storm was 320 miles southwest of Tampa Bay at 5 p.m. and moving at 12 mph. It is not expected to strengthen. Forecasters said landfall could occur as early as Saturday afternoon, anywhere from the Tampa Bay area north to the Panhandle.

June 01, 2007 in Weather | Permalink

http://blogs.tampabay.com/breakingnews/2007/06/hurricane_seaso.html

http://www.hazardpredictor.com/tropical_images/tropical/fox13/BARRY_track.jpg

I'll take the rain for sure. As long as there is no damage I'm happy.

Good we need some rain!!! Honestly im not concerned about Hurricane Season only thing is if one major hurricane happens then the same bs like in 2005 with insurance companies raising the rates through the roof and oil companies raising gas prices with every damn hurricane.

Well that was fun...

yea

guys i know we need the rain but i am glad to have our florida sunshine back. it feels great, i dont know if tampa or orlando are getting back to sunshine but miami is.

^^You guys had sun today?? In clearwater we maybe got an hour of actual sunshine then it was cloudy and rained again but we need it and it felt really nice so i liked it.

^^You guys had sun today?? In clearwater we maybe got an hour of actual sunshine then it was cloudy and rained again but we need it and it felt really nice so i liked it.

yea the sun came out in the afternoon

Hospital in storm zone gets $3.2M
FEMA will help fortify trauma center Tampa General Hospital.
By KEVIN GRAHAM
Published June 12, 2007


http://www.sptimes.com/2007/06/11/images/tb_tghcane_450.jpg
FEMA has given TGH nearly $3.2-million to make improvements to the hospital for hurricane protection. Part of the problem for the hospital is access. If the bridge is out during a hurricane, access to and from the hospital becomes very difficult.
[Times photo: Ken Helle]

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/06/11/images/tb_tghcane_300.jpg
[Times photo: Ken Helle]
Joe Baum, of Hurricane Manufacturer Corporation, installs the tracks for hurricane shutters over the windows at Tampa General Hospital.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Breaking News Video

TAMPA - Emergency planners usually frown when people who run the region's top trauma center insist they will stay put during a hurricane. Tampa General Hospital sits at the edge of an island, just 12 feet above sea level in a primary evacuation zone.

But the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Monday it will spend $3.2-million to fortify the hospital against wind and water damage, providing watertight doors, tougher rooftops and shutters capable of withstanding Category 5 storms.

The FEMA grant will pay for 75 percent of planned improvements. Tampa General, which began renovations for hurricane preparedness three years ago, expects to cover the difference.

"We've spent millions of dollars hardening the facility and developing a plan to be able to take care of patients during and after a storm," said hospital spokesman John Dunn. "The FEMA grant will help us take care of a lot of those things we were not able to budget."

"Little by little, we've been adding more and more protection," said Oslec Fernandez, the hospital's facilities management director. "We feel very confident we've done everything possible."

Aging gravel rooftops that leaked in previous storms will be repaired with flat roofing materials, eliminating dangers posed by flying pebbles.

New stainless steel mesh shutters - permanent fixtures color-coated to blend with hospital windows - can withstand debris flying at 157 miles per hour, Fernandez said. The 14-gauge metal is less than a tenth of an inch thick.

Windows on newer sections of Tampa General already can withstand a Category 3 hurricane and won't be improved, Fernandez said.

Workers have already installed shutters on some upper level floors expected to house patients during a storm. Monday, shutters went up on a bridge that connects the hospital to its Rehabilitation Center.

Larry Gispert, emergency manager for Hillsborough County, worries less about the bridges that connect hospital buildings and more about the bridges that connect Davis Islands to the mainland. A big storm could knock them out, he said, leaving Tampa General to fend for itself.

"I've always been concerned about isolation," he said. "This money does nothing to speak to that."

Hospital spokesman Dunn said the facility could, if need be, operate for up to five days on its own.

Even that leaves Gispert wondering.

"I would figure after five days we would figure something out," he said. He just isn't sure what that "something" would be.

As a Level 1 trauma center, Tampa General's patients include burn victims and people with newly transplanted organs. Moving those patients requires special equipment, which is in short supply, Dunn said. It's safer and more practical to relocate them within Tampa General than to move them elsewhere, he said.

Fernandez said the hospital made some facility changes after Hurricane Katrina. One was configuring the top floor of Tampa General's new parking garage to hold the weight of a Chinook helicopter, the largest rescue chopper used by the U.S. military.

Tampa General is the only bay area hospital so far to receive grant money from FEMA's Florida Long-Term Recovery program, but the agency is still reviewing applications.

Kevin Graham can be reached at kgraham@sptimes.com or 813 226-3433.

FAST FACTS:

Hurricane plan

Part of Tampa General Hospital's plan to shelter patients if a hurricane hits:

-Move patients out of rooms with windows.

-Move patients up to the third floor and down from the top floor, in case of roof damage.

-Send patients home who are close to discharge and cancel elective surgeries.

-Relocate the emergency room from the ground floor to a designated area on the fourth floor. When the hospital's new emergency room opens in November, it will be on the second floor.

-Use power from six generators, housed 20 feet above sea level with enough fuel for three to four days.
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/06/12/Hillsborough/Hospital_in_storm_zon.shtml

Looks like the season is starting to get active.

I'm no expert, but to me it appears that there's a surface low pressure system trying to form in the gulf that's looking rather ominous on the animated satellite imagery. And after viewing the past 6-hour loop, it almost appears as if there's a high-level (cirrostratus) outflow pattern, as well.

Additionally, there's also another interesting wave just east of the islands that bares watching...

Nothing scary, I just find it very interesting, that's all. I hope everyone's prepared.

Looks like the season is starting to get active.

I'm no expert, but to me it appears that there's a surface low pressure system trying to form in the gulf that's looking rather ominous on the animated satellite imagery. And after viewing the past 6-hour loop, it almost appears as if there's a high-level (cirrostratus) outflow pattern, as well.

Additionally, there's also another interesting wave just east of the islands that bares watching...

Nothing scary, I just find it very interesting, that's all. I hope everyone's prepared.
........? :lol:

I don't see anything forming 'til Aug 13th or around then. The waves coming off Africa are getting more better defined though.

NOAA's Storm Count Steps Back, A Little
By NEIL JOHNSON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 10, 2007

TAMPA - Despite Thursday's slight reduction in the number of storms the federal government expects, conditions remain ripe from Africa through the Caribbean for hurricanes to form.

That is not good news for the United States.

Seasons with similar conditions typically produce two to four hurricanes that make landfall in the United States, said Gerry Bell, the head seasonal forecaster for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Thursday's prediction from NOAA for the 2007 season dipped slightly from the agency's forecast in May but still calls for an above-average hurricane season.

NOAA now calls for 13 to 16 named storms and seven to nine hurricanes. Of those, NOAA still expects three to five to become major storms with winds higher than 111 mph, unchanged from earlier predictions.

NOAA's updated forecast reduced the number of named storms and hurricanes by one each from what was expected in May.

If those numbers prove true, 2007 will be a highly active season, Bell said.

That's because little has changed in the season's first 10 weeks to indicate this year will be a repeat of the relatively tranquil 2006 season; another factor is that the peak of hurricane season runs from about now through the middle of October.

That's when most storms form as tropical waves and march across the ocean from Africa.

In fact, NOAA experts are more confident now of an above-average season than they were in May.

Water temperatures in the western portion of the tropical Atlantic and in the Caribbean Sea are about 1 degree above normal, Bell said.

Warm water is fuel for hurricanes.

Also, conditions in the Pacific Ocean likely to make it easier for hurricanes to form.

NOAA scientists now think there's slightly better than a 50 percent chance a La Nina will form before the end of the season, which is Nov. 30.

When water in the tropical Pacific cools to create a La Nina, winds blowing from the west seven miles above the earth diminish. Those winds can rip apart developing hurricanes. Without the winds, storms encounter little resistance.

Bell said the La Nina type climate pattern already is showing up in a quieting of hurricane activity in the eastern Pacific. When that happens there usually is an increase in Atlantic hurricanes.

'It's a seesaw,' he said.

A third element pointing toward an active hurricane season is a long-range climate pattern that combines warm water, atmospheric conditions and favorable wind patterns from Africa that settled into place in 1995.

Hurricane activity in the Atlantic swings from quiet to intense over long periods that can last 25 to 40 years. We are well into an active phase of that cycle, Bell said.

Nine of the past 12 years have seen above-average hurricane activity, which is 11 named storms, six hurricanes and two hurricanes reaching Category 3 or higher with winds topping 111 mph.

Reporter Neil Johnson can be reached at njohnson@tampatrib.com or (352) 544-5214.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2007/aug/10/me-noaas-storm-count-steps-back-a-little/?news-metro

Just when we thought it was ok to go and let our guard down.

http://www.baynews9.com/images/wx/doppler/AtlanticW/1186942081.jpg

http://www.baynews9.com/images/wx/HURRICANE1.JPG?August Sunday11

^
The LaNina conditions in the Pacific will probably help fuel more Altlantic storms as we approach Sept/Oct.:ohno:

That is a depression now.

Now its Tropical Storm Dean...watch out Florida!

........? :lol:

I don't see anything forming 'til Aug 13th or around then. The waves coming off Africa are getting more better defined though.
I must be psychic!

I see this storm hitting the Carolina Coast. High Pressure is blocking it from hitting Florida and the Bermuda High will prevent it from going out to the Atlantic so it will be pretty close or direct hit near the Carolinas.

I would be also watching the Atlantic next week with another wave that I believe will be TD #6 and could be our 1st Major Hurricane.

The Low in the Gulf will be our next TD, but it will be no threat to Florida, but Corpi Christi should be watching this.

Here we go!:cheers:

Thankfully it has been a quiet year for us again, at least thus far. I am often reminded of just how late in the season Andrew was and the devastation it brought to our state beyond the immediate impact in south Florida.

Dean is now a Cat 2. Hopefully it stays away from FL. :ohno:

I was reading that the high that would keep it away from Florida is supposed to lift during the weekend, thus allowing it to go North. I would venture to say it is not out of the realm of possibilities for Florida.

That's what I heard too. Unfortunately, I'm getting the feeling that a trough will form around Louisiana and complicate the forecast even more. We'll just have to see. I get nervous when such troughs form west of Florida becuase of what happened in 04 and 05.

Dean is now Cat 3 :ohno:

Dean now a major hurricane
Friday, August 17, 2007

(Bay News 9) -- Hurricane Dean was upgraded to a category 3 storm Friday afternoon.

Dean is moving through the Lesser Antilles and into the eastern Caribbean with 125-mph winds.

Bay News 9 chief meteorologist Mike Clay said an upper level low tracking across Florida will determine Dean's eventual path.

Depending on how the low interacts with Dean, the hurricane could take a path across the Yucatan Peninsula or head directly into the Gulf of Mexico.

If the storm travels across the peninsula, it should weaken, but if it stays over open water it could strengthen and possibly head toward Texas.

On the way, Dean could threaten the Dominican Republic, Haiti, the Cayman Islands and Jamaica. Cuba could be in danger if Dean takes a more northwestern track.

Florida does not currently appear to be in Dean's path.


Tune in to Bay News 9's Weather on the Nines for complete forecast information, including the Tropical Update at :49 past the hour.


======
As of 9pm, Dean is now a Cat 4 monster. Brace yourselves Mexico, Texas.

Almost a cat 5 now, it's a beast of a storm. Jamaica still looks to be directly in the sights. How scary would that be to have nowhere to run, the whole country would be under assault. We've had some bad storms, but at least America is big enough that a hurricane can't cover the whole country.

Beast is right, jonknee. Something I couldn't help but notice is how remarkable the eye has remained for such a prolonged period of time. As a general rule, fluctuations in the eye wall occur rather frequently wiithin the daily cycle of most hurricanes, and yet Dean's eye has remained consistantly clear and tight since it established category 2 status a few days ago - an anomaly, so to speak.

Gotta say, I'm so glad that Tampa didn't find itself in the crosshairs of Dean's fury. Just imagine the consequences...

It would be worse than NOLA.

No it wouldn't, New Orleans wasn't too damaged until the levys broke the day after. If they weren't below sea level it wouldn't have been a nightmare. Tampa isn't exactly high up, but we're entirely above sea level.

^^
Agreed, things weren't that bad in NOLA until the levees broke. Thankfully Dean didn't directly hit Cancun, where all the hotspot hotels and entertainment are...and all those people. I'm also glad a lot of the toursits were able to flee in time.

Its so scary to see another Cat 5 make landfall. I don't remember Andrew too well cause I was too little and never paid attention to the news. Of course now, Dean is down to Cat 3, but that doesn't mean the fury is over...not by a long shot.

Tampa is sitting on a bay, though. In the worst case, if a cat. 5 hurricane pushes the water into the bay, water levels could rise as high as 29 feet above normal (according to scientists). Tampa has no levees...most of the city would be under water.....

No doubt there would be flooding, but what was out of the ordinary with NOLA is that it filled with water and the water couldn't recede because of the topography. Here and almost every where else the water would go away as quickly as it came in.

Sorry for resurrecting the discussion.....again. But that Felix is a monster. Poor Yucatan, Belize. They're getting a double whammy. :ohno:

^Yup, another Cat. 5.

Thank gosh the Yucatan was largely spared a direct hit this time. Nicaragua, not so lucky... :ohno:

Hurricane Inspection Program Irks Public
By JOHN W. ALLMAN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 12, 2007

TAMPA - It's been 15 months since the state launched its My Safe Florida Home inspection program.

During that time, there have been tens of thousands of residents statewide who tried to take advantage of a free wind inspection and a possible matching grant up to $5,000 to better fortify their homes against hurricanes.

But now, as it enters its second full year, the program is becoming better known for complaints than success stories.

The residents who speak out don't just carp about long wait times. They use words like "scam" and "fiasco."

For instance, people say they have been surprised at:

•Being flooded with solicitation calls from contractors who got their personal information from the state.

•Finding out after they have applied about loopholes or changes to the program that left them ineligible to participate.

•Hearing derogatory comments about the program from the home inspectors hired by the state.

All in all, it has left many people feeling frustrated and angry.

"I said to hell with it. If I need to do something, I'll do it on my own. To hell with the state," said Allan Schwartz of New Port Richey, who waited nearly a year for an inspection he said is worthless. 'It's just one massive disappointment. The program is not intelligently planned."

Officials with the state Department of Financial Services, which oversees the program, say they have heard the complaints and they understand.

"We've answered a lot of frustrated calls," said Tami Torres, special programs administrator for Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink.

They argue that the program is relatively new and that it overcame a fitful pilot period en route to inspecting more than 90,000 homes since April.

"That's pretty incredible, by anyone's standards," Torres said.

Residents, however, say the problems haven't been fixed. They point to issues at every step of the process.

Julie Stafford of Tampa thought she was done with the program four months ago. She had received her free inspection and later learned she wasn't eligible for a matching grant.

She does not live within the state's windborne debris region, which typically extends inland about a mile from the coast. Much of Hillsborough County is outside the region's boundary.

Then, a few weeks ago, Stafford got a phone call. She was told she had to have a reinspection.

"The inspector lady said you wouldn't believe what a mess this program is," Stafford said Tuesday. "The lady said the program is so screwed up that they don't know from day to day what they're doing."

Stafford said she was floored.

"I couldn't believe why they would waste my time if I'm not even eligible," she said. "Why wouldn't they reinspect people who perhaps live in the wind area?"

Torres said the state is required to ensure the quality of the inspections being provided. To do that, they must reinspect 5 percent of all inspections performed. The homes are picked randomly.

"It gives us an opportunity to find ways to do further training of our inspector workforce," she said.

Torres acknowledges that there have been other problems such as homeowners "who are concerned because they were contacted by a contractor."

The problem, she said, is that all information received through applications is considered public record because of state statutes. Torres said they have asked contractors working for the state not to call residents, but they can't stop them.

"We recognize the homeowners' frustration in this regard," she said.

There is also the frustration of not being alerted to modifications in the program - there have been several significant changes - that limited who could participate.

Colista Hancock, 76, who lives in Riverview, wanted to apply for a matching grant. She signed up in August 2006, received her free inspection and waited.

She finally got a letter saying that homes like hers built after 2002 are no longer eligible for grant funds.

She promptly called the state: "I said, 'I didn't read that when I signed up.' They said, 'Oh, no, we changed the rules.' "

Torres said the change was intended to provide more opportunity for homeowners whose houses were built prior to the state building code being strengthened in 2002.

Hancock sees it another way: "Where I was born and raised, you don't change the rules like that."

Reporter John W. Allman can be reached at (813) 259-7915 or jallman@tampatrib.com.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2007/sep/12/me-hurricane-inspection-program-irks-public/?news-metro

^^
:ohno:
What a piece of crap this program is. Is this funded by taxpayer money? If so, then it is a horrendous waste! This is no way to prepare Florida for another hurricane! Totally unacceptable.

Jason and others, feel free to rant about this article...

Ahh yes, yet another storm s...Karen. After all, September is the peak of hurricane season. Hopefully nothing comes our way though.

The absolute peak date was September 15th. It all goes down hill from there. That doesn't mean an intense storm can't form and make landfall (anyone remember Mitch and the trouble he caused for Central America?), but I'm hopingthe only thing that comes from these storms are disruptions of the shipping lanes in the Atlantic and Carib.

Tropical Depression 16 forms south of Port-Au-Prince
Sunday, October 28, 2007

Tropical Storm 16 has formed south of Haiti.

BAY AREA (Bay News 9) -- Tropical Depression number 16 has formed and is centered 145 miles south of Port-Au-Prince Haiti.

It is south of Hispaniola and moving west-northwest toward Jamaica with winds of 35 mph.

This depression is expected to become a tropical storm in a day or two and will be named Noel

It will move west-northwest for the next several days. A cold front is expected to drop into the southeast later this week that could curve the storm to the east into the Atlantic after it crosses Cuba.

The government of Cuba also issued a tropical storm watch for the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba and Guantanamo, meaning tropical storm conditions are possible, generally within 36 hours.

Forecasts keep this as a tropical storm throughout the track. There is still uncertainty in the track, however, since this is a weak system and there is a lot of shear over the Caribbean.

Stay tuned to Bay News 9 for updates with the Weather Experts.

http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2007/10/28/298478.html?title=Tropical+Depression+16+forms+south+of+Port-Au-Prince

^^
The system has been upgraded to a tropical storm.

Deadly tropical storm targets Bahamas
Wednesday, October 31, 2007

(Bay News 9) -- Tropical Storm Noel continued its path across Cuba Tuesday night and may strengthen slightly as it veers through the Bahamas.


The storm brought heavy rain to the western Caribbean as it pushed through Cuba and edged closer to Florida. Floods and mudslides across the region have killed at least 22 people.

Noel's center is about 30 miles northwest of Camaguey, Cuba, and about 235 miles south-southwest of Nassau, Bahamas. Noel has maximum sustained winds of about 40 mph and is moving north-northwest at about seven miles per hour.

"The storm is starting to curve to the Northeast,'' said Bay News 9 meteorologist Josh Linker. "The general trend is fairly consistant with the storm veering to the northeast through the Bahamas and out to sea.

Although the storm is not expected to hit Florida, warnings were in effect for rough surf for much of south Florida, including the Miami area, as waves were already pounding the region's beaches.

A tropical storm watch may be issued for southeast portions of the state if Noel shifts west or its wind field expands. A watch means tropical storm conditions are possible within 36 hours.

http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2007/10/31/299201.html?title=Deadly+tropical+storm+targets+Bahamas

Well, the 2007 Hurricane Season is coming to a close. I'd say it has been rather active, yet much less what was predicted. Thankfully no hurricanes hit the US this year, but I still cannot forget the wrath that Dean and Felix caused to Mexico. I'm sure those two names will be retired.

Just when we thought everything was over...

Subtropical storm Olga churns in Atlantic
Tuesday, December 11, 2007

MIAMI -- It's news most people wouldn't expect to hear in December, but the low pressure area Bay News 9 weather experts have been talking about for the past three days has developed.

Subtropical Storm Olga formed shortly before 9 p.m. over the Virgin Islands, 10 days after the Atlantic hurricane season ended.

The storm is not expected to affect Florida.

It is near the eastern tip of Puerto Rico and is moving west. It has maximum sustained winds near 40 mph. The storm is moving towards Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

"A system of high pressure will keep Olga away from Florida and steer it into the Caribbean and eventually weaken it over the next few days," Bay News 9 meteorologist Josh Linker said

The Atlantic hurricane season ended Nov. 30.

There have been 10 recorded tropical or sub-tropical storms in December since 1851, five of which became hurricanes. The U.S. has not had a hurricane make landfall in December.

Stay tuned to Weather on the Nines for more details.

http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2007/12/11/309012.html?title=Subtropical+storm+Olga+churns+in+Atlantic