Hurricanes Out, Blizzards In

Stick a fork in this year's hurricane season. It's done.

Weather gurus at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration officially called it off this week, after only nine named storms. Their original predictions called for at least 13 named storms this season.

"The development of El Nino conditions by September helps explain why this Atlantic hurricane season was less active than predicted," Gerry Bell, NOAA's weather guy in charge of hurricanes, tells NOAA News Online. Bell works at NOAA's headquarters on East-West Highway in Silver Spring.

NOAA explains the relatively quiet season like this:

El Nino, combined with the large-scale weather patterns over the southeastern U.S., produced sinking air in the middle and upper atmosphere, along with higher than anticipated wind shear (the change in winds through the atmosphere) over the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. These conditions minimized thunderstorm activity, which inhibited tropical storm and hurricane formation.

Whatever.

"We dodged a bullet this year," Dennis Feltgen, another NOAA meteorologist, tells the Haddiesburg (Miss.) American. "People should use the off season to prepare for next year."

In the meantime, NOAA is monitoring that freakin' mess that unloaded tons of snow in the Pacific Northwest, Rockies and the Midwest. The beast hits Silver Spring on Friday with heavy rain and high wind, NOAA predicts.

Props to NOAA for the satellite photo of Hurricane Ernesto.

"Return of El Nino Yields Near Normal 2006 Atlantic Hurricane Season" (NOAA News Online)
"Hurricane Season Ends With Sigh of Relief" (Haddiesburg American)
"New Storm Brings Snow and Rain to Western States" (ABC 7 News)