Hurricane Alpha Might Be On The Way After Wilma

Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) -- The Atlantic Ocean hurricane season tied a 1933 record for the busiest ever as Tropical Storm Wilma strengthened, heading toward Honduras and Mexico and causing crude oil and natural gas prices to rise.

Wilma was about 225 miles (362 kilometers) east-northeast of the Nicaragua-Honduras border at 2 p.m. Miami time, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an online advisory. The system, which formed today over the Caribbean Sea, is the 21st named tropical storm of the 2005 hurricane season.

The storm, whose winds increased to 50 mph (80 kph) from 45 kph, is forecast to strengthen in the next day as it moves west toward Honduras, Belize and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Wilma may become a hurricane by tomorrow, the center said. Wilma will head northwest in the next two to three days, said Mark McInerney, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center.

``Wilma will get into the Gulf (of Mexico) between the Yucatan and Cuba,'' McInerney said today in an interview from Miami. ``After that, we don't know yet.''

Crude oil and gasoline prices rose on concern Wilma may enter the Gulf, disrupting oil output that's 67 percent below normal following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

`Taking No Chances'

``The storm may lead to further evacuations,'' said Michael Fitzpatrick, vice president of energy risk management with Fimat USA in New York. ``If the storm moves into the Gulf it will lead to a suspension of repairs and there may even be a contraction in production. We're taking no chances.''

Wilma's winds extended 70 miles from the system's center, mostly to the south. Although the storm is drifting south, it probably will turn west in the next 24 hours, the hurricane center said. Rainfall of 4 inches to 6 inches is possible in the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, with as much as a foot in some areas. Honduras may receive as much as 10 inches of rain.

There are six weeks left in the June 1-Nov. 30 record- setting hurricane season. Katrina was the costliest ever U.S. natural disaster when it slammed into Louisiana in August, killing about 1,250 people. Spain was hit this month by its first tropical cyclone ever.

A tropical storm warning and hurricane watch were in effect for the Cayman Islands, indicating such conditions are possible within 24 and 36 hours, respectively. The Honduran government issued a tropical storm warning from the Nicaragua border west to Cabo Camaron.

On Alert

Anyone living on the Gulf Coast from the Florida Keys to Texas should be on the alert, Richard Knabb, a meteorologist at the center said in a telephone interview.

Hurricanes are measured on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity. The weakest hurricanes are rated Category 1, with sustained winds of at least 73 mph. Category 2 hurricanes have minimum winds of 96 mph.

Crude oil for November delivery rose $1.37, or 2.2 percent, to $64 a barrel at 1:54 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures have declined 9.7 percent since reaching a record $70.85 a barrel on Aug. 30, the day after Katrina made landfall. Prices are up 17 percent from a year ago.

Gasoline for November delivery rose 4.64 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $1.795 a gallon in New York. Prices have dropped 39 percent from a record $2.92 reached on Aug. 31. Gasoline is up 28 percent from a year ago.

This year's Atlantic hurricane season was the busiest since systematic aircraft reconnaissance of weather systems began in 1944. Until this year, that mark stood at 19, in 1995, though less reliable data indicate 1933 had 21 storms, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

All the letters of the alphabet except Q, U, X, Y and Z are used to name storms. After Wilma, the storms will be named for letters in the Greek alphabet: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and so on.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...E&refer=canada

Crazy stuff, this is the busiest storm season since 1933 :eek:

Lets hope everyone in the Gulf region stays safe and this one dies out.

Regards,

Lee