Hurricane
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Hurricane season in the Atlantic basin official began June 1. For people in South Louisiana it seems like it's always hurricane season. We're constantly checking out the latest predictions on what the experts are predicting.

We want to know if our name is on this years list of hurricane names. We do all this because we know it only takes one hurricane to really screw up a Summer and create years of recovery.

NOAA Forecasters along with the experts in the field of tropical meteorology have been saying El Nino conditions are going mean a quieter than average hurricane season for our part of the world. So far that El Nino effect is running a little behind. El Nino is a term used to describe warmer than usual waters in the Pacific that in turn create higher wind shear over the Gulf of Mexico and Tropical Atlantic and Caribbean.

This higher than usual wind shear helps keep conditions for tropical systems to develop in the marginal to hostile range. If the storms can't develop then that is good news for us in South Louisiana. Just because it's forecast to be an El Nino year doesn't mean we won't see a major storm. I am sure many of you remember Hurricane Andrew in 1992. That was an El Nino year.

Right now forecasters are saying the water temperatures in the Pacific are beginning to rise and the effects of El Nino should be felt across the Gulf of Mexico in the next few weeks. Forecasters are still maintaining this should keep the tropical season below average for our part of the world.

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