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Atlantic Canadians Told To Expect Another Active Hurricane Season |
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Written by Staff
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Monday, 08 May 2006 |
With a combination of warmer Atlantic waters, cooler Pacific sea surfaces, and the effects of generalized global warming, Atlantic Canadians will yet again be holding their breath and crossing their fingers as the official start of the 2006 hurricane season looms.
June 1 has historically marked the beginning of the annual Atlantic hurricane season but until 2003, those living in three Atlantic provinces were only mildly interested in meteorological forecasts and predictions feeling comfortable in the belief that destructive hurricanes this far north were extremely uncommon.
And then came Hurricane Juan in late September of 2003. Just after the lights went out around 11:30 PM on a Sunday night, the Category 2 storm hit landfall like an out-of-control freight train and became one of most powerful and damaging hurricanes to ever affect Canada. Juan raged through the night and by the time the light of Monday morning dawned, those living in its direct path awoke to destruction that had only been witnessed on the 6 o'clock news reports out of the southern United States.
Not only did Hurricane Juan result in loss of life and over $100 million in property damages, the storm also marked the end of an era for those who live near the north Atlantic - everyone woke up that morning to the terrifying knowledge that we were no longer immune from the ravages of mother nature.
Meteorologic forcasters are warning that the 2006 season is expected to be as active as last year and has the potential of being even more so. The 2005 season which produced monster storm Hurricane Katrina earned the distinction of being the most destructive hurricane season on record with so many named storms that officials were forced to use letters from the Greek alphabet for the first time.
Experts this year are predicting as many as 17 storms in total with at least five becoming major storms of winds exceeding 180 km/h. 2006 is being categorized as having the potential of being twice as active as the norm with individual storms reaching the maximum highly destructive strength of a category five.
Forecasters cannot predict which storms will reach landfall nor where they might land. But with more Atlantic Canadians feeling vulnerable since Hurricane Juan, at the very least they will be more closely monitoring each developing storm this year and putting into place effective disaster plans. |
