On September 19th the National Hurricane Center predicted that, the system will become a tropical depression and if the storm grows up stronger than that, it will be named Tropical Storm Ophelia.

The National Hurricane Center ensured that, Hurricane Hilary has grown in strength to become a Category 4 storm as it approaches southwestern Mexico on 22nd September 2011. The U.S. National Hurricane Center revealed the storm has become more powerful, with top winds of 135 miles (215 kilometers) per hour.

According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, Ophelia reclaimed tropical storm status and is forecast to reach hurricane strength on a track that may take it east of Bermuda this weekend. Ophelia’s winds are 50 miles (80 kilometers) per hour, up from 35 mph earlier today, according to an advisory at 5 p.m. The system is about 180 miles east-northeast of the northern Leeward Islands, moving north-northwest at 7 mph.

In addition to Ophelia, forecasters are monitoring Tropical Storm Philippe, which is about 1,040 miles west of Cape Verde with 40-mph winds. Once its winds drop below 39 mph, it will become a tropical depression.

In the Pacific, Hurricane Hilary may drop to tropical storm status overnight and dissipate by the end of the week, the center said. The storm is 640 miles west-southwest of Baja California with winds of 80 mph and is moving at 8 mph.

Hurricane Katia weakened to a Category 3 with 125 mph (205 kph) on Tuesday 6th September as moved across the Atlantic Ocean after briefly becoming a Category 4 system.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Katia’s greatest sustained winds early Tuesday decreased to near 125 miles an hour. The hurricane center said some fluctuation in strength is possible over the next 24 hours followed by slow weakening. Forecast maps showed Katia veering to the northeast, away from the U.S. in the coming week, but the hurricane center said large swells from the hurricane could affect the East Coast, Bermuda, the Greater Antilles and parts of the Bahamas over the next few days.

Meanwhile, the destructive remnants of Tropical Storm Lee rolled north after spawning tornadoes, sweeping several people away, flooding roads and knocking out power to thousands across the South. More rain was expected in parts of Tennessee, where records have already been broken. Flash flood watches and warnings were in effect early Tuesday from the southern end of the Appalachians northeastward into New England, according to the Hydro meteorological Prediction Center. Tornado watches were in effect for parts of North Carolina.

Rain kept falling in Tennessee early Tuesday (6th September) after a wet Monday. Chattanooga went from it’s driest-ever month in August, with 0.01 inch of rain to a record one-day deluge of 8.16 inches by 5 p.m. Monday. By dawn Tuesday, 10 inches of rain had fallen in the state’s fourth-largest city

Tropical Storm Harvey crushed Central America and eastern Mexico with strong winds and torrential rain on Sunday (21st August 2011), threatening to cause destructive mudslides across the mountainous landscape. Miami-based US National Hurricane Center said, “these rains could produce life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, especially over higher terrain,”.

The storm made landfall in Belize near Dangriga on Saturday and weakened as it moved farther inland and into northern Guatemala and eastern Mexico. On Sunday morning, it was barreling westward at a speed of 22km/h, with maximum sustained winds near 65km/h, the center said. Located about 65km north northwest of Tikal, Guatemala, the storm was forecast to continue moving inland. Stormy weather killed hundreds of people last year in Central America, a region highly vulnerable to weather disaster due to its rugged terrain and poor infrastructure.

As Harvey pounded Central America, Tropical Storm Irene formed east of the Caribbean’s Leeward Islands and was expected to strike the early next week, US forecasters said. On the forecast track, Irene was expected to pass near or over Puerto Rico and Hispaniola island — shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic — early next week before possibly hitting the Florida Keys islands.

“Some strengthening is forecast over the next 48 hours and Irene could become a hurricane on Monday,” warned the Miami-based center.Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Barbados, Curacao, Antigua and Barbuda have issued .

The northeastern coast of Japan already faced a great disaster on March 11, 2011.Now expecting strongest thunderstorms within Typhoon Ma-on is now affecting the southeastern coast of Japan and appeared on satellite imagery from two NASA satellites. The uneven waves, gusty winds and heavy rainfall are affecting eastern coastal Japan today.

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite observed rainfall rates in Ma-on on July 18, 2011 at 2306 UTC (7:06 p.m. EDT) and again on July 19, 2011 at 0221 UTC (July 18 at 10:21 p.m. EDT).The rainfall analysis used TRMM’s Microwave Imager (TMI) and Precipitation Radar (PR) data from both orbits. At 1500 UTC (11 a.m. EDT) on July 19, Typhoon Ma-on’s maximum sustained winds were near 55 knots.

Tropical storm-force winds extended out to 140 miles from the storm’s center. Ma-on was moving to the northeast near 10 knots. It was about 300 miles west-southwest of Yokosuka, Japan near 33.3 North and 134.2 East. Ma-on is expected to continue weakening and is now expected to recurve to the east-southeast and head back to sea sometime on July 20.Ma-on is expected to continue weakening and is now expected to recurve to the east-southeast and head back to sea sometime on July 20.

Atlantic Hurricane Season is usually expected between June–November. This time Atlantic Hurricane Season starts this week May 22-28 before June . The purpose of this blog post is to provide you with important information and to be prepared for a storm target SW Louisiana during the upcoming season.

As you know, tropical systems are divided into 3 stages for naming purposes: tropical depression, tropical storm, and hurricane.Hurricane- The most intense of the tropical cyclones. It produced very heavy rainfall, and sustained surface winds must be at least 74 mph.

· Category 1: 74-95 mph. Minimal damage will result such as downed trees and power lines.

· Category 2: 96-110 mph. Extensive damage will occur.

· Category 3: 111-130 mph. severe damage will occur.

· Category 4 :131-155 mph. Devastating damage. A very high risk of death to humans and animals due to falling and flying debris.

· Category 5: 156 mph or greater. Catastrophic damage. A very high risk to almost near certain death for humans and animals due to falling and flying debris.

National Hurricane Center has announced alert for Hurricane Warning near coastlines. Tropical Storm Watch- Alert issued when tropical storm conditions are expected within 48 hours for a specific area of the coast.Tropical Storm Warning- Alert issued when tropical storm conditions are expected within 36 hours for a specific area of the coast.

Hurricane Watch- Alert issued when hurricane conditions are expected for a specific portion of the coastline. It is issued within 48 hours. Hurricane Warning- Alert issued when hurricane conditions are expected for a specific portion of the coastline with 36 hours of the anticipated onset of tropical storm force winds. This is because preparations become more difficult to complete once the winds increase.

A huge flood weighed down Toowoomba, a city west of the state capital Brisbane, without warning.The floods were due to heavy rains caused by Tropical Cyclone Tasha. Such was the speed of muddy water that cars were pushed back   and tossed them like toys, carried away furniture from stores.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation quoted by Ms Bligh said that ,“the worst disaster event started in Toowoomba can only be described as a complete freak of nature, an extraordinary overflow that almost came out of nowhere “.This is one of the huge flood waves that reach almost 6 feet high or more. Over 200,000 people have been affected across Queensland.

The enduring floods in Queensland have washed away roads and railways, destroyed crops and brought the coal industry to a near standstill. Toowoomba’s mayor described the scale of the floods was “unbelievable” and said the city was in shock.The floods in Australia have forced thousands of people from towns and cities to vacate to safer places .Nearly three quarter of Queensland has been a disaster zone.The state premier has estimated that the price of rebuilding homes, businesses and infrastructure, coupled with economic losses, could exceed A$5bn (£3bn).

Earthquake which hit Haiti last year on Jan12, 2010 damaged many houses with the magnitude of 7.0. This earthquake brought about a lot of destruction in Haiti and now after a year people are vacating their settlement camps. Many from the dirty camp have vacated and went back to their respective neighborhoods. Half of the camp dwellers has vacated the camps and moved back to their old residential areas whereas others have moved back to their damaged houses. Some have chosen new areas and few are residing along with friends or relatives.

Francois Joseph-Ifanord (aged 62) said that “We came back to the house because we had no choice.” Many people are forced to leave the camp area as the property owners demand them to evacuate their places. As rainy season starts in the month of May, most of them are being kicked off, with no secure place to go, according to the International Organization for Migration report.

According to a new study, it was found that cyclones in the future will be more powerful and extreme but occurrences of cyclone will be less this year. Scientist Dr Kevin Walsh from the University of Melbourne climate generated computer models studying the development of cyclones for the next 90 years. According to his research findings, it was found that by the end of this century they will be thirty percent decline in the occurrences of cyclones but the cyclones which are likely to happen will be highly intensified and powerful compared to other cyclones that had already occurred. There will be southward shift of the cyclones in the future as per the study.

Dr Walsh said “Some of the simulations that we’ve been doing have suggested that typical occurrence regions could be moving further south in a warming world.’’ He also added that “We’re not talking a tremendous change. We’re talking about a few hundred kilometers, really.’’ Three cyclones have hit the Far North during this wet season, one is cyclone Tasha which hit south of Cairns on Christmas day, second being cyclone Anthony and following that was cyclone Yasi hit the coast six weeks later. The damage due to this cyclone was estimated to be dollar three million as cyclone Yasi was considered under category 5 cyclone. Regional director Wayne Coutts from Emergency Management Queensland said that it helps in building his regions disaster resilience every time cyclone hit the Far north. Regional director Wayne Coutts said “It’s an unfortunate way to have to learn things.” He also added that the building codes of Far North must be broadened further south. Making necessary arrangements and taking needed steps to minimize the damages after the cyclone is very important.

Hurricane Wilma was considered the fourth costliest storm in the history of USA and brought about heavy destruction of about 29.1 billion US dollars. The most affected area due to Wilma was Mexico, Florida and Cuba. The death due to Wilma was calculated as reported was 69 and is the most severe hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic basin. Wilma was a category 5 hurricane and brought about major flood in Cuba.

Formation of Wilma was due to an agitated weather that initially prevailed much of the Caribbean Sea. This gradually developed as a surface low pressure near Jamaica and this strengthened as tropical depression. This cyclone inconsistently shifted westward and southward for two days, finally turning into a powerful storm. In the northern Yucatan Peninsula, hurricane condition was because of Wilma and same way in southern Florida. At Mexico, there were average winds of 100 meter per second along with the gust of wind at 130 meter per second. During the passage of the hurricane, 62.05 inches of rain was reported by the Isla Mujeres. Almost ten tornadoes took place in Florida because of Wilma.

Due to Wilma, sugar industry was knocked in Florida and many citrus trees were diseased after the hurricane. Mexico resort town-Playa del Carmen, Cozumel, and Cancún were greatly affected due to Wilma as incoming of tourist decreased.

Killer waves swept 10,000 people and more near the northeastern coast of Japan on March 11, 2011. This is due a huge earthquake-9.0 magnitude (the fourth largest since 1900) under the sea, producing ruthlessly destructive tsunami waves which hit Japan few minutes after the earthquake in the Pacific Ocean. This earthquake clubbed with Tsunami, not only killed several people but also affected rest of the Japan with no electricity, water and transportation. Warning and evacuation was done across Pacific Ocean in order to avoid further damage and loss of life. The country apart from the losses, is also suffering from nuclear crisis due to its impact.

According to Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan: After World War II, this Tsunami attack was a considered as heaviest crisis in the Japan History. This Catastrophe has paralyzed the various parts in Japan. On March 14, 2011, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan at a News conference said that “Within 65 years after the end of World War II, this is the most difficult crisis for Japan. So related to the earthquake and tsunami, I believe that Japanese people can unite to work together.”

What really happened? According to Scientist and NASA satellite prediction: This Earthquake altered the earth’s axis by 6.5 inches, sank Japan sliding by about two feet and reduced the day by 1.6 microseconds. The tsunami’s waves rolled in and sunk the coastline of Japan. This actually moved the eastern Japan near North America by about 13 feet.

What is Tsunami? A tsunami is from Japanese which means Harbor Wave. Tsunami is a chain of water waves, displacing large volumes water due to water bodies such as Oceans or large lakes. Frequent occurrence of Tsunami is in Japan. Approximately 195 events have been recorded as large volumes of water sweeping away the coastal areas with such a force and high energy level. Several factors can contribute to Tsunami such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explosions (including detonations of underwater nuclear devices), landslides and other mass movements, meteorite ocean impacts or similar impact events.

Japan placed high-tech sensors which will detect slightest movements and also took other precautionary measures around the country after 1995 earthquake due to this the scientists were able to calculate the quake’s impact down . Lucy Jones, chief scientist for the Multi-Hazards project at the U.S. Geological Survey said “This is overwhelmingly the best-recorded great earthquake ever.”