Hurricane Season Winding Down With A Bang

We've discussed whether or not you think this year's Atlantic Basin Hurricane Season has been a quiet one. For the Gulf of Mexico it actually has been so far. If you live in Bermuda this season has been plenty busy thanks to one storm.

Hurricane Gonzalo is bearing down on the tiny island of Bermuda and by nightfall this evening residents there could be feeling the affects of a major hurricane. The 4am status of Gonzalo show maximum sustained winds are at 140 mile per hour. Combine that with a forward speed of 15 miles per hour and the chances of devastation rise considerably.

If there is any good news associated with Gonzalo it is that the forward speed will carry the storm in and out of Bermuda rather quickly. This means that once the storm has passed the island should be in the clear to receive aid and emergency services should they be required.

The tropical outlook for the next several days looks very good especially along the Gulf Coast. There is some concern that early next week a Pacific system could slide over Mexico and have enough energy left in tact to begin strengthening in the Bay of Campeche but many models are discarding that prognosis.

In the climatology of hurricanes there is a mini-peak of storm activity in late October and we are right at that peak. The next five or ten days should just about remove any chance of a tropical system forming or affecting the Louisiana Gulf Coast this year. That is if Mother Nature chooses to follow the normal pattern of hurricane seasons of the past.