Hurricane Season 2007 Opens, Hurricane Chasing

Note: I have had server issues today and I’m just now able to post my update - - -

My busy time of year starts today. Today marks the opening of the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Season 2007 Hurricane Season. The season runs until November 30^th and it’s expected to be a active season the next 6 months. Already this morning we are monitoring a weak area in the northwest Caribbean, that has some possibilities to develop into a tropical or non-tropical low pressure system. The area is forecast to move over Florida, which is some of the best news in weeks as Florida continues to deal with a severe drought. Already this morning light rain is falling over Florida from the system, as it remains very disorganized, but sending moisture northward.

The National Hurricane Center opened the season with their first Tropical Weather Outlook of the day at 530am ET.

TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK

NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL

530 AM EDT FRI JUN 1 2007

FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC…CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO…

WIDESPREAD CLOUDINESS AND DISORGANIZED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EXTEND FROM CENTRAL AMERICA NORTHEASTWARD OVER THE WESTERN CARIBBEAN SEA…WESTERN CUBA…AND PORTIONS OF FLORIDA. THIS ACTIVITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH A BROAD AREA OF LOW PRESSURE NEAR THE EASTERN YUCATAN PENINSULA. WHILE UPPER-LEVEL WINDS ARE GRADUALLY BECOMING LESS FAVORABLE…THIS SYSTEM HAS SOME POTENTIAL FOR TROPICAL OR SUBTROPICAL DEVELOPMENT OVER THE NEXT DAY OR SO AS IT MOVES NORTHWARD INTO THE SOUTHERN GULF OF MEXICO. REGARDLESS OF DEVELOPMENT…LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS WESTERN CUBA AND PORTIONS OF THE FLORIDA PENINSULA DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE FOR MORE DETAILS.

ELSEWHERE…TROPICAL CYCLONE FORMATION IS NOT EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS.

TODAY MARKS THE FIRST DAY OF THE ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON…WHICH WILL RUN UNTIL NOVEMBER 30TH. THE LONG-TERM AVERAGES FOR THE NUMBER OF NAMED STORMS…HURRICANES…AND MAJOR HURRICANES ARE 11… 6…AND 2…RESPECTIVELY. THE NOAA SEASONAL HURRICANE FORECAST IS PROJECTING 13 TO 17 NAMED STORMS…7 TO 10 HURRICANES…AND 3 TO 5 MAJOR HURRICANES DURING 2007.

Expect full hurricane coverage here on my blog this season. Everything from daily tropical discussions, to live hurricane chase updates, forecasting news, and the lastest thoughts on current active storms. I’ve changed over into my hurricane mode now for the summer, so expect a lot of tropical weather, and hurricane posts in the coming months, along with my normal summer time Florida lightning storm chasing. I’ll have another update later today, but now I’m off to take care of a few interviews.