Friday, June 02, 2017

Hurricane season starts with nobody in charge at FEMA or NOAA

We've already had two tropical storms in the northern hemisphere this season. Because of warm ocean waters, the forecast is for an above-average number of hurricanes this year.



Craig PittmanCraig Pittman
Tampa Bay Times
Thursday, June 1, 2017 3:21pm

The 2017 hurricane season started Thursday without anyone in charge at the two federal agencies most involved in dealing with hurricanes, National Public Radio notes.

Five months after Donald J. Trump was sworn in as president, no one has taken the reins at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is in charge of preparing for and then dealing with the aftermath of a hurricane. The last FEMA boss was a Florida man, W. Craig Fugate, who departed in January after seven years on the job. Fugate previously served as the head of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. Trump finally nominated someone at the end of April, but he has yet to be confirmed.

Trump meanwhile has made no move to appoint a new boss at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the agency in charge of the National Hurricane Center and the National Weather Service, which provide hurricane forecasts and hurricane warnings in advance of a storm.

Incidentally, NOAA Is predicting an above-average hurricane season this year. Trump's proposed budget has targeted both agencies for cuts.

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https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/tropical-storm-arlene-atlantic-april-2017

Tropical Storm Arlene Only the Second April Atlantic Tropical Storm in the Satellite Era
Apr 21 2017

Tropical Storm Arlene became only the second April tropical storm of record in the satellite era, but fortunately remained far from land in the central Atlantic Ocean.

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https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/tropical-depression-two-e-tropical-storm-beatriz-east-pacific-mexico

Tropical Storm Beatriz made landfall on Mexico's Pacific coast near Puerto Angel on June 1, bringing with it heavy rainfall and mudslides for southern Mexico.

Heavy rain soaked parts of Mexico's coastal Oaxaca state. Puerto Angel reported more than 11 inches of total rainfall from the tropical cyclone through June 2.

However, due to its slow movement, up to 15 inches of rain may have fallen in Mexico's Oaxaca state. Heavy rain is also anticipated in the Yucatan peninsula.

Deadly landslides have were reported, with houses buried and travel impacted in the state of Oaxaca.

At least two people were killed according to the State Coordination of Civil Protection of Oaxaca.

One of the two deaths was a woman that was killed in San Carlos Yautepec by a landslide. Another landslide swept away and killed a minor in San Marcial Ozolotepec, and two others are missing.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Atlantic_hurricane_season

The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season is an ongoing event in the annual formation of tropical cyclones in the Northern Hemisphere. The season officially began on June 1, 2017, and will end on November 30, 2017. These dates historically describe the period each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin and are adopted by convention. However, as shown by the exceptionally rare Tropical Storm Arlene, which was only the second named storm on record to form in April, the formation of tropical cyclones is possible at any time of the year.

For the third consecutive year in a row, activity began early, with the formation of Tropical Storm Arlene on April 19, nearly a month and a half before the official start of the season. It is only the second named storm on record to exist in the month in April, with the first being Ana in 2003, as well as the strongest overall for the month of April.

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