We have one more storm, Wilfred, and we are out of letters. (The letters Q, U, X, Y and Z are rotated in, one at a time, every six years because so few names begin with those letters.)
In the next 24 – 36 hours the need for more storm names will trigger the use of the Greek alphabet: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, etc. The last time—and only time—the Greek alphabet was utilized was 2005. The average hurricane season uses 12 names.
For only the second time in recorded history—there are five tropical cyclones in the Atlantic at the same time.
So far, this season has featured a total of 21 tropical cyclones, 20 tropical storms, seven hurricanes and one major hurricane. Again, never in recorded history has the quantity of storms been packed so early in a season—17 storms set formation records for being earlier than any other year. The official start of Hurricane season is June 1st and we had already put Arthur (formed May 15th) and Bertha (May 27th) on the books.
Laura, the 4th hurricane and first major one, became a Category 4 with wind speeds in excess of 150 mph. It was the strongest hurricane on record in terms of wind speed to ever make landfall in Louisiana.
As we are posting this, the Louisiana/Florida coast is getting pounded with an expected 30 inches of rain.
Here at Creative Force Maps we take a major interest in tropical storms because we are located in Tampa, only 2.5 miles from Tampa Bay. Once this hurricane season runs out of energy, officially November 30th, we will post a summary of the season—as cartographers see it.
Our best to all,