TEXAS TROPICS

The official start date for what is considered "Hurricane Season" is June 1. The season's last day is November 30. It's in this time frame that conditions become the most conducive for tropical activity to occur. In fact, since 1851, 97% of the systems that have reached at least tropical storm strength, have occured between June 1 and November 30. But Mother Nature doesn't adhere to dates on a calendar, and as a result, there have been numerous tropical systems that have popped up outside of this official "season". The month of May, the month immediately preceding the official start, is when we see the majority of these "off-season" systems as conditions begin to improve for tropical development as we near the official "season". 64% of the off-season activity occurs in May. In fact, with the formation of Ana a couple of days ago, there has been a storm form in May for 7 straight years. This has prompted discussion of moving the start ...

Our little early season disturbance in the western Gulf is raising some eyebrows. Identified as Invest 91, which is what the NHC gives systems with the potential to develop, this thing has a chance to make history. All models indicate this system will come ashore along the Texas coast, most have it somewhere near Matagorda Bay. In recorded history, there has NEVER been an off-season system at tropical storm strength or better, strike the Texas coast. NEVER. There was a tropical depression that affected Texas in 1936, but that's it. If this system develops into a tropical, or even a subtropical storm, in which it will still get a name, it will be the 1st ever to make Texas landfall before June 1. The system clearly has a low level circulation that is easily seen from satellite. The thing is, if you can clearly see the low level spin, it means storms are not forming around it's center. And the reason storms are not forming around the center is that it is sucking in a ton of dry a...

The dawn of a new hurricane season is upon us ( 2 weeks away ), and if you've lived in hurricane country ( U.S. east and Gulf coasts ) for any amount of time, you know about getting and being prepared for the upcoming season every year. These next few weeks are when you're supposed to be out stocking up on supplies that will be essential in helping you get through a week or two without power and possibly water and food, if you're in the path of a hurricane. You do this now so that you're not in a mad rush to get these supplies when the warnings come out, and risk seeing empty shelves at the store, as people rush to hoard supplies and clean everything out. Unfortunately, most people do not heed this advice and choose the mad scramble instead. A reason for this may be that an area can go years without a serious threat from a tropical storm or hurricane, and hundreds of thousands of people will have moved to these hurricane prone areas in that time, never having had to exp...