Nevispages Reporter
(CHARLESTOWN NEVIS)-Today, Monday, June 1, 2015 marks the start of the 2015 hurricane season that will run until November 30, 2015.
According to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the names given to the storms for 2015 are, ‘Ana, Bill, Claudette, Danny, Erica, Fred, Grace, Henri, Ida, Joaquin, Kate, Larry, Mindy, Nicholas, Odette, Peter, Rose, Sam, Teresa, Victor and Wanda’.
The NOAA has indicated that there is a 70 percent chance that the Atlantic will witness eight (8) to thirteen (13) of those named storms, of which three(3) to six (6) will build into hurricanes, including three (3) major hurricanes.
Some storms have been so destructive that their names had to be retired. According to www.almanac.com, the deadliest storm to have had its name retired was ‘Hurricane Mitch’, which caused over 10, 000 fatalities when it struck Central America during October 1998. Others to have had their names retired include, Agnes, Alicia, Allen, Allison, Betsy, Bob, Camille, Fabian and Katrina.
Here in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, it is extremely important for residents to take precautions during the hurricane season.
This September 2015, marks twenty-six (26) years since the Federation of St. Kitts & Nevis and other Caribbean islands were devastated by ‘Hurricane Hugo’ in 1989. This year also marks twenty (20) years, since the historic 1995 hurricane season when the Federation was affected by two hurricanes, ‘Luis’ and ‘Marilyn’. Since then, the islands have witnessed three more hurricanes, ‘George’, ‘Lenny’ and ‘Omar’, with ‘Omar’ being the most recent.
A ‘named storm’ has winds of at least 39 miles per hour (mph). A hurricane has winds of 74 mph and a major hurricane has winds up to, and in excess of 111 mph.