Hurricane News

I’m presently in Saint Lucia, where many of us are keeping track of Hurricanes Irma and Jose. We watch as Irma destroyed Barbuda, I’ve holidayed there and it pains me to know it is now 95% inhabitable.

Hurricanes Irma and Jose are Cape Verde storms, which began near the islands off the west coast of Africa. Storms also start in the Gulf of Mexico, like Katia.

Storms get names when winds reach 39 mph. The average season produces six hurricanes and three of those become major at 111 mph winds or higher. So far this year, there have been six hurricanes: two major ones, Harvey and Irma; two new ones Wednesday, Katia and Jose; and Franklin and Gert.

However, it’s not over yet! The weather service predicted a 70 percent likelihood of 11 to 17 named storms with 5 to 9 becoming hurricanes. They predicted 2 to 4 major hurricanes. In early August, it was changed to a 60 percent chance of 14 to 19 named storms, 5 to 9 hurricanes and 2 to 5 major hurricanes.