First tropical storm named

[banana republican]

MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Weather forecasters lifted coastal warnings for Aletta, the first tropical storm of the eastern Pacific season, after the storm moved farther out to sea.

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WEATHER/05/29/bc.la.gen.mexico.tropical.ap/index.html

Hey & the hurricane season doesn't start for two more days...

[GrumpyGreg]

1. I guess Mother Nature doesn't know that she's 2 days early.

[Endangered Specie]

4. Not quite... the pacific season started May 15th

[Up2Late]

2. I had a feeling we would get an early one in the East Pacific...

...and it weakened to a TD too.


<http://tsr.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/tracker/dynamic/200601E.html>

I think we are still a few weeks away from any Gulf storms, the water's still too cool.

[typhoontim]

5. Gulf is warm enough...

Actually, most of the Gulf is more than warm enough. Tropical systems typically need ocean temperatures of 26 degrees C (80 degrees F) or higher to sustain tropical development. And with the exception of the extreme NE and NW portions of the Gulf, the waters are plenty warm...



Source: TAFB

[Up2Late]

6. No, it's not. See all that green and yellow? All that cool water would...

...quickly snuff out a storm.

When that turns the same color (tempature) as the water south of Cuba and Purto Rico, that's when it's time to start worring.

And the wind direction is wrong too:



<http://www.crownweather.com/tropical.html>

[modrepub]

8. Hurricane Ingredients

Warm water > 85 F (29 C)
Easterly winds at the surface and aloft.

Right now waters in the Caribbean and the Gulf a bit cool, getting easterly surface flow from your diagram (above) but aloft winds look to be westerly. Too much shear for T-storms to grow into anything organized right now.

[Endangered Specie]

3. Well, here we go again.

[phusion]

7. self-delete

nevermind...

[Haole Girl]

9. Is it that time of the year already?

I hope it's not as bad as last year!

[Acadia Blue]

10. After Katrina, I don't think N.O. can take another one, nor my area.

I hope they don't come to Louisiana