Don't Relax: Hurricane Season Isn't Over Yet

Although the 2007 hurricane season has been relatively quiet so far, according to experts at the National Hurricane Center, warm waters in the Caribbean and in the Gulf of Mexico could spawn some vicious storms during the month of October with maybe one or two more major hurricanes.

Weather experts need only point to Hurricane Wilma in 2005 as a good example of a storm that occurred later in the hurricane season. The storm developed off of the Yucatan in the Caribbean and became an extraordinarily powerful hurricane, making landfall in Mexico as a Category 5 with winds of 150 mph. When Wilma slammed into South Florida on October 24th, it was still a powerful Category 3 with winds around 120 mph. Hurricane Wilma's wrath caused extensive damage and left residents of Florida without power for weeks.

During the earlier months of the hurricane season- June, July, and August-- storms typically develop from waves that come off of the coast of Africa, but later in the season - October and November - the storms are more likely to develop closer to home in the Caribbean and in the Gulf of Mexico. During this time of year, the water in the Gulf of Mexico and in the western Caribbean is exceptionally warm, and after the past few busy hurricane years, most of us who live in hurricane prone areas know that warm water equals the potential for very powerful hurricanes.

So with all of these grim hurricane predictions for the month October, what should residents of hurricane prone areas be aware of? First, do not let your guard down. Usually at this point during hurricane season, residents of the southeastern United States get lax. We start digging into our hurricane supplies. We begin eating the food we have stored in the pantry, using the spare batteries we have stocked up on, and drinking the bottled water, all the while thinking, "It's October and we haven't any real hurricane threats, so we're out of the woods!" I, and many others I know, have been taken completely by surprise in the past after we went through our provisions and were faced with a storm in October or November.

The good news? Hurricane season officially ends on November 30th, so there are only two more months left. But until then, don't let down your guard, keep up with any hurricane preparations you have not finished with yet, and stay out of that beef jerky!

Robert P. King, "After storm lull, scientists warn of red-flag October", Palm Beach Post
Wikipedia, "Hurricane Wilma"