Hurricane Season 2003 -- An Active Start!

Hurricane Season 2003

NAMED STORMS TO DATE '03

The 2003 Hurricane Season has gotten off to a very active start. So far, there have been 4 named storms.

1. TROPICAL STORM ANA formed as a subtropical storm on April 20th. Only one other storm in history formed as early as April! Ana did not make landfall.

2. TROPICAL STORM BILL formed on June 29th and made landfall over Louisiana on June 30th.

3. HURRICANE CLAUDETTE formed in the central Caribbean Sea on July 8th southeast of Jamaica. Claudette tracked northwestward into the Gulf of Mexico, eventually making landfall July 15th at Matagorda Bay on the Middle Texas Coast.

4. HURRICANE DANNY formed on July 16th as a Tropical Storm. By July 18th, Danny became a hurricane, already the second hurricane of the season.

During the middle to latter part of July, it looked as though a fifth named storm was in the process of forming. A strong tropical wave organized into Tropical Depression Six well east of the Lesser Antilles on July 19th. This system was originally expected to form into a Tropical Storm or even a Hurricane. However, the depresssion had moved very fast, and this did not allow the system to further organize. Tropical Depression Six was downgraded to a tropical wave on July 21st as it moved across the Lesser Antilles.

THIS YEAR VERSUS HISTORY

The 2003 Hurricane Season is off to the races...with already 4 named storms so far through July! Prior to this year, there have only been 9 years since 1871 in which 4 or more named storms developed through the end of July. The table below lists the years with 4 or more storms that formed through July, along with the total number of storms for each season.

YEAR # STORMS THROUGH JULY TOTAL STORMS
1886
4
10
1909
4
10
1933
5
21
1936
5
16
1959
5
11
1966
5
11
1989
4
11
1995
5
19
1997
5
8
2003
4
?

Climatology
Average Named Storms = 10
Average Hurricanes = 6
Average Major Hurricanes = 2

So can history provide any insight into what we can expect for the remainder of this hurricane season? Based on the data in the table, it appears there is no real clue. Six of the 9 years did not continue at an overly active pace. However, 3 of the years certainly continued with well above normal activity througout the hurricane season. The peak of the season awaits us...and it is important to remember that, even if the hurricane season does not remain active, it only takes one. Hurricane Andrew, an intense Category 5 Hurricane, devastated South Florida in August of '92. There were only 6 named storms that year.

HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS

Everyone should be prepared and know what actions to take in the event a Tropical Storm or a Hurricane decides to impact the local area this season. Know things such as...

-Developing a family plan
-Creating a Disaster Supply Kit
-Having a place to go
-Securing your home

Visit the National Hurricane Center's Awareness site to find information on hurricane preparedness, as well as other useful information related to hurricanes. To go to that site, click here.



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