Category Archives: Hurricane Katrina

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Like most other forecasters who have, or will soon, released their predictions, [hurricane season prognosticator Bill] Gray sees an active year, meaning the Atlantic should see more storms than usual. Gray said … Continue reading → Continue reading →

If you want to get an idea for how busy the hurricane season is going to be, check the water temperature. When the water in the hurricane breeding grounds of the Atlantic warms one degree in the dead of summer, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Even though we just had a second consecutive relatively quiet hurricane season, some people think this one should have been quieter still. With another hurricane season set to end this Friday, a controversy is brewing over decisions of the National … Continue reading → Continue reading →

On the one hand, as the 2007 hurricane season officially ends, it wasn’t that bad. Despite alarming predictions, the U.S. came through a second straight hurricane season virtually unscathed, raising fears among emergency planners that they will be fighting public … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Joe Jaworski writes the following letter to Governor Perry: Dear Governor Perry: I know you share my outrage at the snail’s pace of state aid for Texas families more than two years after Hurricane Rita came ashore with such force. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

One feature of early October that I think we’re all paying more attention to these days is the revised hurricane forecast for the rest of the season. Hurricane expert William Gray slightly downgraded his forecast today, calling for four named … Continue reading → Continue reading →

According to SciGuy, in the past 150 years, only three hurricanes have hit the Texas coast after September 24, the most recent being Jerry in 1989. The 24th is a key date, since it’s when Rita made landfall in 2005, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

This really pisses me off. Two years after Hurricane Rita pushed deep into East Texas with devastating force that damaged or destroyed an estimated 75,000 homes, the state has spent less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the federal grant … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Now-Hurricane Humberto took a right turn last night and hit Beaumont and Louisiana instead of Houston. Hurricane Humberto blasted Beaumont with wind gusts up to 84 miles an hour this morning after forming suddenly and making landfall in Southeast Texas … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Boy, this sure developed in a hurry. Tropical Storm Humberto is expected to reach shore late tonight just south of Galveston, dumping heavy rain from Victoria to eastern Louisiana. Some spots along the upper coast could receive 10 inches or … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Six more hurricanes, that is. Hurricane expert William Gray downgraded his 2007 Atlantic storms forecast slightly Tuesday, but he still predicted above-average activity for the remaining three months of the season, with six more hurricanes, three of them major. One … Continue reading → Continue reading →

We were out of town this weekend, and as is often the case when we travel I lose track of what’s going on in the world. So, I was a bit surprised to pick up today’s Chron upon our return … Continue reading → Continue reading →

In the end, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been. As of Wednesday night, the system was downgraded to a tropical depression. There were no deaths reported in Mexico nor known damage to its vital oil infrastructure, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

It could have been much worse. Hurricane Dean slammed into the Caribbean coast of Mexico today as a roaring Category 5 hurricane, the most intense Atlantic storm to make landfall in two decades. It lashed ancient Mayan ruins and headed … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Here comes Dean. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said the first hurricane of the Atlantic season was a powerful Category 4 storm, and could reach the highest level — Category 5, with maximum winds greater than 155 mph — … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Once again, good news from my perspective, horrible news from many other people’s. Here’s the late night update from SciGuy: Today the models have fallen in line with a final landfall for Dean in Mexico. The official forecast has caught … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The bad news is that Hurricane Dean is on its way to becoming a Category Five storm. The good news, from my perspective, is that the models have nudged enough south, and are now clustered enough together, that Houston is … Continue reading → Continue reading →

SciGuy gives me some morning agida: The overnight models have become more tightly clustered, and the news is not favorable for Texas, which now appears the target if Dean makes a U.S. landfall. Dean may yet not make landfall in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

So much for our quiet hurricane season. Rescue workers were activated in southern Texas today in preparation for heavy rain expected to accompany newly formed Tropical Storm Erin moving through the Gulf of Mexico. At 10:30 a.m. CDT, it had … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Midway through the hurricane season, things are looking a little better than before. Hurricane researcher William Gray lowered his 2007 forecast slightly Friday, calling for 15 named storms, with eight becoming hurricanes and four becoming intense. On May 31, at … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Good news: Plentiful rains throughout Texas the past year led weather officials today to declare an end to drought conditions across the state for the first time in at least a decade. “We’ve gotten so much rain this year we’ve … Continue reading → Continue reading →

You might have noticed that it’s been a quiet hurricane season so far this year. There are good reasons for that, but don’t go drinking all that bottled water just yet. First, the good news. Scientists had worried about La … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The State of Texas plans to look towards the private sector for relief when the next big hurricane hits. “If FEMA shows up, good,” said Jack Colley, chief of the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management. ”But we’re not waiting.” Call … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Among the many task forces that were convened after the Hurricane Rita evacuation fiasco was one to deal with the issue of depleted gasoline supplies along evacuation routes. Here’s the report. Surprisingly, until Rita hit Sabine Pass on Sept. 24, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I have a feeling that this is a subject we’ll visit again and again in the coming years. More than half of all evacuees from Hurricane Rita lived on ground high enough to avoid a surge of water from even … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Whether this hurricane season will be active or not, local authorities are planning for the worst. Harris County officials said Monday they are as prepared as they can be for hurricane season, which begins June 1. The key question, they … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Government forecasters called for a busier than normal hurricane season Tuesday. National Weather Service forecasters said they expect 13 to 17 tropical storms, with seven to 10 of them becoming hurricanes. The … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Last year, the official estimate for the 2007 hurricane season was 14 named storms. Then we heard that La Nina was active, which would tend to increase the number of hurricanes. And sure enough, that esitmate has now been bumped … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Congratulations to Mayor White. Mayor Bill White and a Louisiana school superintendent won the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award on Monday for their actions in response to the Hurricane Katrina crisis in August 2005. White and Doris Voitier, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Argh. “Forecasters warned today that a La Nina weather pattern — the nasty flip side of El Nino — is brewing, bringing with it the threat of more hurricanes for the Atlantic. Officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Now that hurricane season is officially over, we can begin hurricane prediction season for 2007. Colorado State forecaster William Gray has predicted 14 named storms for next year, including three major hurricanes and four other hurricanes. He and fellow researcher … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Boy, remember when this hurricane season was going to make last year look like nothing? Those were the days, huh? The forecast service AccuWeather said the northeast United States was “staring down the barrel of a gun,” and respected forecasters … Continue reading → Continue reading →

This is either the best news you’ll read today or a sure sign that we’re all doomed. You decide. Hurricane expert William Gray downgraded his forecast for the 2006 Atlantic storm season again today, predicting one more hurricane, two more … Continue reading → Continue reading →

SciGuy breaks out the red cape, waves it wildly towards the Gulf Coast, and yells loudly “Hey, Fate! You’re a big wussy!” It may seem imprudent to tempt fate, but it’s impossible to escape a singular fact: Historically, after this … Continue reading → Continue reading →