Hurricanes Do Hit Canada. This Time Newfoundland Bore The Brunt

 Oh yes indeed, hurricanes do indeed hit Canada - especially the east coast. This time Huuricane Igor slammed Newfoundland and a week later many people are still cut off in remote villages while crews are frantically trying to repair completely washed out roads and bridges. It'll still be some time before they are back to normal.
   . . . June


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Ask the Weather Guys: Do hurricanes ever hit Canada?:

With recent attention on the massive and powerful Hurricane Igor in the Atlantic Ocean, the question arose as to whether hurricanes ever effect Canada.

The Maritime Provinces of eastern Canada are visited by the remnants of Atlantic hurricanes with some regularity. In fact, Hurricane Igor, which struck Bermuda on Sept. 19, struck the Avalon Peninsula in the far southeast portion of Newfoundland, Canada, on Sept. 21. Road washouts, toppled trees, flooding and some deaths were attributed to the storm.

By the time Igor made it to Newfoundland, it was in the process of transitioning from a tropical storm to an extratropical storm. Though the details of this process are fascinating and relevant for understanding some of the weather elements associated with the storm, the strong winds (in excess of 70 mph with gusts to over 115 mph) remained a significant aspect of Igor's path through Newfoundland.

Similar devastating events have occurred in the recent past, such as when Hurricane Juan struck Nova Scotia resulting in millions of dollars in damage to that province in late September 2003.

Igor will continue northward and gradually lose strength over a period of days in the Labrador Sea, west of Greenland. Stirring of the Labrador Sea by surface winds plays a role in the maintenance of the Gulf Stream circulation. By the time he is finished, Igor will have stirred the Atlantic Ocean from the tropics all the way to the Arctic Circle.

Read More . .

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Are Warmer Seas Fueling Hurricanes This Season?

 This year's hurricane season has been unusual. According to the following article, the four major Atlantic hurricanes that spun toward the Caribbean in the past month were fueled by record warm seas and formed in an unprecedented 20 days. With 10 weeks left in the hurricane season, more may be coming.
'The season may be busy for another month', “All the ingredients’’ are in place for major hurricanes to form this year' said Simon Young, chief executive of the insurer Caribbean Risk Managers.
   . . . June


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Warmer seas fueling hurricanes
The Boston Globe:

The four major Atlantic hurricanes that spun toward the Caribbean in the past month were fueled by record warm seas and formed in an unprecedented 20 days. With 10 weeks left in the hurricane season, more may be coming.

The storms that were born off west Africa gathered strength by absorbing the ocean’s heat and swelled into Category 4-level hurricanes on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale. While none hit land at full speed, each packed winds of at least 131 miles an hour, stronger than Katrina’s Category 3 winds when it devastated New Orleans in 2005.

After Igor churned past Bermuda Monday and cut power to two-thirds of the island’s residents, Tropical Storm Lisa formed yesterday in the east Atlantic. While the six-month season is past its statistical peak, forecasters and insurers said warmer seas can lengthen the danger period to property, from beach homes in Florida to rigs and refineries in the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico.

“The hotter the water, the higher the octane level, and there [are] going to be far more Category 4 and 5 hurricanes,’’ said Jim Rouiller, an Air Force meteorologist for 20 years who works for Planalytics Inc. in Berwyn, Pa.

The season may be busy for another month, said Simon Young, chief executive of the insurer Caribbean Risk Managers. “All the ingredients’’ were in place for major hurricanes to form this year, he said.

The National Hurricane Center predicts 2010 will have as many as 20 storms of at least 39 mile-per-hour winds, meaning they will be named, compared with 11 in a typical year. Lisa’s formation yesterday brought this year’s tally to 12. The Miami-based center has identified five major hurricanes in 2010 compared with two in an average season when waters are cooler.

Read on . . .

Hurricane Igor Heading Toward Bermuda

Hurricane Igor made its way toward Bermuda today with the island nation expected to take a “direct hit”. According to the article below, Bermuda issued a hurricane warning for Igor, which has sustained winds of 100 miles per hour and is about 360 miles south of the island. Igor had been a more powerful Category 3 storm yesterday but  the hurricane center said it may regain some of its lost power on the way to Bermuda. Tropical storm Julia seems to be petering out.
   . . . June


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Hurricane Igor Heading Toward Bermuda as Island Prepares for `Direct Hit'
Bloomberg:

Hurricane Igor made its way toward Bermuda today with the island nation expected to take a “direct hit” from the weather system, the National Hurricane Center said.

Igor, a Category 2 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, is expected by forecasters to pass within 11.5 miles (18.5 kilometers) of the island early next week.

“We have all heard the reports from the Bermuda Weather Service that this storm will be a long and punishing one and the potential for injury and physical damage is great,” said David Burch, Bermuda’s minister of Labour, Home Affairs and Housing, in an e-mailed statement.

Five hurricanes with Category 3 winds of 111 mph have formed in the Atlantic this year, part of a total of 11 named storms with winds of 39 mph or more. The average Atlantic season produces 11 named storms from June 1 through Nov. 30, two of them major hurricanes, according to Dennis Feltgen, a spokesman for the hurricane center.

Bermuda issued a hurricane warning for Igor, which has sustained winds of 100 miles per hour (160 kilometers) and is about 360 miles south of the island, the U.S. center said in its latest advisory. The system was moving at 14 mph, headed northwest.

While Igor weakened from a more powerful Category 3 storm yesterday, the hurricane center said it may regain some of its lost power on the way to Bermuda.

“This storm is one that should be taken extremely seriously,” Mark Guishard, director of Bermuda’s weather service, said in a statement. “Make no mistake, even if the center of this system misses the island, we will experience significant impacts.”


Read On . . .

Hurricane Julia is named the 10th Storm

 More hurricanes are churning out in the Atlantic. According to the following article Hurricane Igor is still a powerful Category 4 storm with an impressive eye seen on satellite video, and the newcomer to the party is Julia. Just upgraded to a hurricane this morning. There is no eye currently present on the satellite, but it does look healthy. There'll be lots more to come
   . . . June

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Hurricane Julia named the 10th storm of the Atlantic Season

Baltimore Weather | Examiner.com:

Two Hurricanes are churning in the Atlantic Ocean today. Hurricane Igor is still a powerful Category 4 storm with an impressive eye seen on satellite video, and the newcomer to the party is Julia. Just upgraded to a hurricane this morning, winds are at 75 mph as it is just pushing east of the Cape Vere Islands off of Africa's west coast. There is no eye currently present on the satellite, but it does look healthy.

Hurricane Julia is moving to the west at 12 mph, with no immediate threat to land. There are warm waters to feed off of, so some strengthening is expected.

Hurricane force winds extend 25 miles out, while tropical storm force winds spread 90 miles away from the center

Read More . . . 

Hurricane Watches in Mexico, Texas For Hermine

According to the article below, Newly formed tropical storm Hermine pushed north in the Gulf of Mexico Monday, strengthening as it headed towards the US-Mexico border area, and threatening storm surges and even mudslides. Hermine was packing sustained winds of 85 kilometers per hour.
   . . . June

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Hermine prompts hurricane watches in Mexico, Texas

Yahoo! News: "MIAMI (AFP)

Newly formed tropical storm Hermine pushed north in the Gulf of Mexico Monday, strengthening as it headed towards the US-Mexico border area, and threatening storm surges and even mudslides, forecasters said.

Hermine, the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, was packing sustained winds of 85 kilometers (50 miles) per hour at 1500 GMT after picking up strength during the day, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

The Mexican government issued a hurricane watch from Rio San Fernando to the mouth of the Rio Grande, which is on the US border. The watch extends as far north as Baffin Bay, Texas, the hurricane center said.

Although Hermine's top winds were below hurricane strength, the Miami-based center said the storm 'could approach hurricane strength prior to landfall.' Tropical storm warnings were in effect on both sides of the border.

Forecasters said the system would dump between four to eight inches (10 to 20 centimeters) of rain on northeastern Mexico and south Texas, with up to 12 inches possible.

"These rainfall amounts may cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, especially over the higher terrain of northeastern Mexico," the center said.

It warned a storm surge of two to four feet (up to 1.2 meters) was also possible.

 Read More . . .