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Humberto is season's third hurricane
By SUZETTE PORTER
Article published on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2007 |
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![[Image]](/content_images/091307_fpg-01a.gif) |
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| The 12 a.m. (CDT) Thursday three-day forecast track from the National Hurricane Center shows Hurricane Humberto about 17 NM east of Galveston, Texas. |
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![[Image]](/content_images/091307_fpg-01b.gif) |
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| The 11 p.m. (EDT) Wednesday five-day forecast track for tropical depression eight from the National Hurricane Center. |
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PINELLAS COUNTY – Humberto strengthened into Category 1 hurricane just before making landfall on the Texas coast early Thursday morning.
Humberto is the season’s third hurricane.
The 2007 Atlantic hurricane season got busy Wednesday morning when two tropical weather systems formed. Tropical Depression 9 quickly strengthened into Tropical Storm Humberto. Just after midnight, CDT, the National Hurricane Center announced that the storm had grown into a Category 1 hurricane.
At 12:15 a.m. CDT, Humberto was located about 20 miles east of Galveston and 15 miles south of High Island. Forecasters said the center of the storm should be crossing the upper Texas coast within the next few hours.
Forecasters said Tropical Depression 8 could strengthen into Tropical Storm Ingrid sometime on Thursday. At 11 p.m. EDT, the storm was about 1005 miles east of the Lesser Antilles and moving in a west-northwestward direction. It is still too early to tell whether the storm will have any impact on the weather in Florida.
Maximum wind speeds were about 35 mph with higher gusts. Strengthening was expected over the next 24 hours.
State emergency officials warn that September is historically a busy hurricane month.
According to a Craig Fugate, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, since 1851, more than twice as many hurricanes have made landfall in Florida during the month of September (42) when compared to August (20). Also, almost half of the September landfalls in the state have been major hurricanes, Category 3 or stronger.
Hurricane experts William M. Gray and Philip J. Klotzbach, at Colorado State University, forecast that five named storms will form in September, four of which will strengthen into hurricanes and two of the four into intense hurricanes.
NOAA meteorologists updated the 2007 hurricane outlook on Aug. 9, and predicted an 85 percent chance of an above-normal season, with the likelihood of 13 to 16 named storms, with seven to nine becoming hurricanes, of which three to five could become major hurricanes (Category 3 strength or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale).
Thus far this season, eight named storms have formed - Andrea, Barry, and Chantal, Dean, Erin, Felix, Gabrielle and Humberto. Dean was the first hurricane of the season and the first major hurricane. Dean and Felix were two of the strongest Category 5 hurricanes to make landfall since Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
State and county officials urge residents to make sure their hurricane plans are complete and preparedness supplies are in order.
Pinellas County, Emergency Management officials urge residents to keep aware of the weather throughout the remainder of the season. They said people should watch a weather report at least once a day.
Residents who do not yet know their hurricane evacuation level should visit www.pinellascounty.org/emergency or call 727-453-3150. Evacuation levels also are printed on Pinellas County Utility bills and Truth in Millage notices from the Property Appraiser’s office.
Citizens with special needs and those who plan to utilize a pet shelter need to pre-register, host home arrangements need to be completed, and all plans put in place.
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30.
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Article published on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2007
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