Looking Back to Katrina, Looking Ahead to the Rest of This Year's Hurricane Season

One year ago today a the 12th tropical depression of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season formed near the Bahamas. That tropical depression would later become Hurricane Katrina and go down in history as one of the worst hurricanes to impact the United States. In the coming days, we will all hear a lot about Hurricane Katrina and the efforts to rebuild the Mississippi Gulf Coast and New Orleans one year after the storm. This week HBO is airing a Spike Lee documentary titled When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts. This is the first of what will probably be many specials aired on different networks. You can catch showtimes and more information on this HBO documentary by clicking to http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/whentheleveesbroke/index.html

With all the talk about Katrina, a lot of folks are comparing this year's season to last year. Fortunately, this season has not been as active as 2005's record setting season, but the rest of this season could still be more active that what is considered an average hurricane season. As September approaches, expect the tropics to heat up.

We are currently monitoring Tropical Storm Debby well out in the Atlantic. This storm appears to be gathering strength and could become a hurricane by the weekend. It does appear the storm will recurve out to sea before it ever comes close to the United States. Here's a look at the latest satellite image from midday Wednesday --
You see Debby on the right side of the image, but take a look and the cluster of thunderstorms to the southeast of the Windward Islands. That area of storms has the potential to become our next tropical depression over the coming days. We'll keep you posted with our tropical updates at :21 after the hour on News 14 Carolina. You can also find the latest on the tropics online by visiting the National Hurricane Center's website at www.nhc.noaa.gov


In other weather news, there is some evidence that El Nino could be returning by this winter. El Nino is the interaction between oceanic and atmospheric systems that impacts weather patterns across the globe. During an El Nino, we typically see fewer tropical systems. However, this upcoming El Nino will more than likely not develop in time to affect this year's hurricane season. You can read more by clicking to http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2006/s2679.htm