“Yoh betta be ready”: 2010 hurricane season will be above average

June to November: that’s the hurricane season and in those months residents are usually on edge about the possibility of a disaster. Well, this year there is even more cause for concern because the Colorado State University team has released the predictions for the season, which is expected to be above average. The effects of El Niño spared us last year with an inactive season, but sea temperatures are likely to be accommodating for the formation and strengthening of storms. News Five’s Delahnie Bain found out from the Acting Chief Meteorologist what residents can expect this year.

Delahnie Bain, Reporting

The 2010 hurricane season is almost two months away, but the preliminary predictions have already been released. While it might seem a bit early, it’s just in time because we’re in for an active season.

Dennis Gonguez, Acting Chief Meteorologist

Dennis Gonguez

“The Colorado State team brought out their predictions a couple days ago and their prediction is for fifteen named systems; eight of those become hurricanes and of those eight, four of them become intense hurricanes; that would be category three, four or five. In a normal year we would have nine named systems, six of them becoming hurricanes and of those six two would be intense hurricanes. So it’s a prediction for a much above average season this year. Last year the El Niño event, the abnormal warming of the Eastern Pacific Ocean, had a dampening effect on the 2009 hurricane season and this year we’re seeing coming close to June and July, the El Niño effect will eventually erode and that’s one of the factors that is leading to this prediction of a more active season. And in addition to that, warmer sea surface temperatures near the Eastern Atlantic Ocean near to Africa will help to trigger off more systems this hurricane season.”

We asked Acting Chief Meteorologist, Dennis Gonguez how these predictions affect us locally and the answer is, to put it simply, “yoh betta be ready”.

Dennis Gonguez

“We have to realize that more hurricanes or more tropical cyclones in the area mean increased likelihood of a hit or a system making landfall in your area.”

Delahnie Bain

So what advice would you give to the residents considering these predictions?

Dennis Gonguez

“Well, we have to start to think about reviewing our family, our personal and our business emergency plans to see the faults in them and how we could improve them so that if we have a threat or two this year, we know that our plan is functioning properly and we will be able to save our lives and our property.”

It wasn’t used to its full potential last year since there wasn’t much hurricane activity, but the coming season is expected to put the Met Service’s Doppler radar to the test.

Dennis Gonguez

“Whenever the system comes within four hundred kilometers or two hundred and fifty miles of our country, we can pick it up with the Doppler radar then we can better give predictions on the center of the systems and how they are moving; whether they are moving towards us or away from us and in that sense then we can give better predictions for the country of Belize.”

Follow up predictions are expected to be released during the season on June second and August fourth. Delahnie Bain for News Five.

In the 2009 season, there were nine named storms; three of which became hurricanes. Last year had the lowest number of tropical storms since 1997.