2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season Forecast

April 14, 2011 Sixteen named storms likely

Atlantic Hurricane Season 2011 forecasts five major hurricanes

At least five major hurricanes with winds of more than 111 miles per hour are expected to develop in the Atlantic during the 2011 storm season, Colorado State University forecasters said.

Overall, some 16 named storms are likely, with nine of them reaching hurricane status — an above-average season, said the forecasters led by William Gray and Phil Klotzbach. The forecast reduces by one the group’s preliminary December outlook for 17 named storms.

There is a 72 percent chance that one of the major storms will strike the US coast, above the 52 percent average for the past century, they said, and a 47 percent chance of a Gulf Coast hit. The East Coast’s odds are 48 percent.

2011 Hurricane Names - Arlene, Bret, Cindy, Don, Emily, Franklin, Gert, Harvey, Irene, Jose, Katia, Lee, Maria, Nate, Ophelia, Philippe, Rina, Sean, Tammy, Vince and Whitney

 

NOAA, FEMA, Red Cross updated "A Preparedness Guide" on Tropical Cyclones

Understanding the Terminology

A tropical cyclone is a rotating, organized system of clouds and thunderstorms that originates over tropical or subtropical waters and has a closed low-level circulation.Tropical cyclones rotate counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere.

They are classified as follows:

• Tropical Depression—A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 38 mph (33 knots) or less.
• Tropical Storm— A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph(34 to 63 knots).
• Hurricane—A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 74 mph (64 knots) or higher.
  In the western North Pacific, hurricanes are called typhoons; similar storms in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean are called cyclones.
• Major Hurricane—A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 111 mph (96 knots)or higher, corresponding to a Category 3, 4 or 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

For more information visit NOAA.