By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ
BROWNSVILLE, Texas | Get ready, get smart. Get Cameron County Commissioner Sofia Benavides out there with the sandbags. They're coming. More of them this season, more and more aggressive.
No, not migrants.
Hurricanes!
This from the national weather service: [ Chances of an aggressive Atlantic hurricane landing during the summer and fall season are now about 60%, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Aug. 10 forecast - twice as likely as the agency's May forecast of 30%. NOAA said the increased likelihood of worse-than-average hurricanes is largely due to record hot ocean temperatures and slower than average development of El Niño conditions (which normally help lessen Atlantic hurricane activity). The agency also increased the overall number of Atlantic hurricanes it expects this year.
In a NOAA release last week from its Climate Prediction Center, hurricane forecaster Matthew Rosencrans urged hurricane-vulnerable communities to heed this advanced warning, saying "the updated outlook calls for more activity, so we encourage everyone to prepare now for the continuing season."
NOAA's outlook - which covers the six-month hurricane season ending Nov. 30, but doesn't predict specific landfall areas - is based on the average hurricane season: 14 storms big enough to get named, seven of which usually become hurricanes, with three of those becoming "major hurricanes." ]
In the latest forecast diagrams from the agency, NOAA predicts anywhere from 14 to 21 named storms compared to its May forecast of 12 to 17 storms. It now expects six to 11 hurricanes to develop from those storms, resulting in two to five major hurricanes.
It's been a long spell since the Rio Grande Valley got walloped by a sizable hurricane.
Hurricane Beulah sliced through here and headed up the Valley on Sept. 20, 1967. There have been minor ones nipping the Lower Valley and heading up the Texas Coast. Hurricane Harvey drowned cities and towns from Corpus Christi to Houston on August 25, 2017.
We're way overdue.
Be ready...
-30-
Now is the time to prepare....what you can do now....purchase water, perishables, flashlights, batteries....if you have pets, pet food. Have a plan for evacuation, if the need arises. Be aware of where you live & whether you live or work in an area that is flood prone...if purchasing plywood or window covers is unaffordable, duct tape will mitigate glass shattering. Determine if sand bags are needed, you know where & when you can obtain them. For those of you that live in the rural area, make sure your bar ditches are free of trash & debris, especially used tires...talk to your neighbors & make sure they clear out their areas as well. These are fairly simple measures that can be taken that may help should we get hit by another hurricane...Lastly, heed the advisories of emergency management personnel & local leaders.
ReplyDeleteAll good suggestions. Let's hope Valleyites take this seriously. Long absence of a strong hurricane has left many of us thinking it can't happen to us. It will...
ReplyDeleteThe old false sense of security. We know it too well here.
ReplyDeleteI love how they name them. Like they're human. ha ha
ReplyDeleteIt's been wildfires everywhere so far. Canada, Maui, Europe. South America. Hell on Earth in other words.
ReplyDelete