ROANOKE, Va. – The earliest 8th-named storm on record developed Thursday evening. While some are quick to compare this to the historic 2005 hurricane season, it’s important to note that (so far) storms this season haven’t been as strong. We’ve yet to reach the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, though.
Hanna is a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico that will make landfall this weekend south of Houston, Texas.
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Currently, there isn’t much standing in the way of the storm, so it has time to strengthen before interacting with land. Satellite imagery Friday morning showed storms exploding around the center of the storm, which is usually an indication of strengthening. This storm will have no direct impact on our weather in southwest and central Virginia.
Farther offshore, we have Gonzalo. The National Hurricane Center is forecasting this to become the first hurricane of the season, but its path is not quite as easy as Hanna’s.
It may have to battle with some drier air on its way to the Caribbean. It’s too far out to speculate as to whether or not this storm will impact our weather locally.
August and September are usually the peak for tropical activity, so this may only be the beginning for the Atlantic Basin.
What happens if we run out of names?
This question has been asked on my Facebook page. If we get to the ‘W’ storm (Wilfred) and more storms form after that, they will be assigned Greek letters.
Hurricane season in the Atlantic runs until November 30.