What's In A Name?

I get a little antsy this time of year. Atlantic Tropical Cyclone season officially started on June 1st. Every year, to a certain extent, I think "this could be the year". The last hurricane to hit here was in 1991. A quick moving storm called Hurricane Bob. It caused lots of damage and left me without power for 7 or 8 days.

I'm not certain most people here understand just how bad it could be for us if a storm like the 1938 hurricane - the last true monster to hit the area - or a Carol (1954?) or even another Bob could be. Florida is used to this stuff. It happens frequently. Up here in the northeast is a different story. The storms tend to accelerate as they head up the coast. Bob was through here in a matter of hours. One of the issues here, I believe, are the trees. We don't get major winds (say 90+ mph) very often, so when those winds do occur, the trees just can't handle it. Many years of growth now weigh heavily on the trees, and in summer, they are covered in leaves making them all the more heavy.

So, what are my concerns this year? Well, only a few factors, really.

Temperature. It has been very warm and humid for an extended period now. The water temperatures are higher than they probably normally are this early. Warm water equals more fuel for a developing or developed storm. Storms do tend to lose strength as they fly up the coast, but warmer water keeps things fired up.

Plants. We are easily weeks ahead of schedule. Trees and shrubs that don't normally bloom until sometime in August have been in bloom for weeks now. Are they getting things done early?

Animals, mostly insects. It seems to me those bugs belonging to the order hymenoptera are hugely active this year. I have been stung twice already. Bumble bees, carpenter bees, honey bees, wasps of various species are all out in what feel like to me big numbers. One of the issues after Bob were the angry, angry bees and wasps that were everywhere after their homes were destroyed. Many people were being stung while out trying to clean up or just happened to be near an angry, stinging mob.


So what does this mean? Scientifically, nothing. I could be all wet. But I am hearing that the "old timers" are singing a similar tune.

Another thing I like to look at is the list of storm names for the season. Here is the 2010 list:

Alex
Bonnie
Colin
Danielle
Earl
Fiona
Gaston
Hermine
Igor
Julia
Karl
Lisa
Matthew
Nicole
Otto
Paula
Richard
Shary
Tomas
Virginie
Walter


Alex and Bonnie are done. So what's left that sounds like a good New England storm?

Colin - Maybe, but not likely.
Danielle - has potential to sound good in the news.
Earl - Now this one definitely has a ring to it.
Karl - perhaps.

Beyond that, I don't see anything that stands out.

The image below is the track of Hurricane Bob in 1991. It cut almost directly over us here. It was a great storm, and later that year we had "The Perfect Storm". A track similar to this, on a bad tide (high tide in conjunction with an astronomically high tide) could have a devastating outcome, especially in communities on Buzzards Bay. Lots of water pushed in the a tight bay with nowhere to go.
Will it happen? Maybe, maybe not. Can it happen. Certainly, so why not be ready anyway?