The maritime professionals website gCaptain has an item up today that ranks the best hurricane and cyclone tracking websites for the 2011 season. Here's a reminder of why you might be interested, even if you're not planning to be out boating on the ocean yourself: hurricane season is upon us, and this year's edition looks to be busy:
The consensus of the various 2011 hurricane outlooks suggest the Atlantic 2011 season will see between 13 and 17 named storms, 7-9 hurricanes and 4-5 major hurricanes. The average season has about 10 named storms, 6 hurricanes and 2 intense hurricanes.
According to the Colorado State University's June update there is a 48% chance for a major hurricane making landfall along the US East Coast and a similar 47% chance somewhere along the US Gulf Coast. Of all the states, Florida will have the highest risk for a land-falling hurricane (71%) and major hurricane (34%). Texas is next with a 50% hurricane risk and a 20% major hurricane risk followed closely by Louisiana at 47% and 20% respectively.
And here's the list. Today, tropical storm Beatriz is the one to watch, and is expected to hit Mexico with some force within the next 24 hours.