THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 24, 1995 TAG: 9508240500
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
Is the Atlantic big enough for three cyclonic sluggers?
Apparently so, as two hurricanes and a tropical storm churned up seas from the Mid-Atlantic to Florida's east coast - and a fourth tropical wave, one that could develop over the next few days, rolled off the African coast Wednesday.
Humberto reached hurricane strength Wednesday morning and was expected to continue to intensify. At 5 p.m., Humberto - pronounced oom-bear-toe, with the accent on the second syllable - was about 1,050 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands, moving west-northwest near 12 mph with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph.
Tropical depression 11 became Tropical Storm Jerry at midafternoon Wednesday. It was the only storm affecting land Wednesday, spreading heavy rain over the Florida Peninsula. At 5 p.m., the center of Jerry was north-northwest of West Palm Beach and moving northwest near 9 mph with maximum sustained winds near 40 mph.
Tropical depression 10 exploded to hurricane force in 12 hours Wednesday. Named Iris, it was about 500 miles east of the Lesser Antilles at 5 p.m., moving west-northwest about 7 mph with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph.
With 10 named storms already - and the heart of the Atlantic hurricane season just beginning - this year is the busiest ever to date. In 1936, there had been nine storms by Aug. 22.
William Gray, a leading expert on hurricane forecasting, had predicted this season would yield 16 named storms, of which 9 would become hurricanes and three would develop into intense hurricanes.
To meet his goal, just six more named storms are needed, four evolving into hurricanes and two becoming intense - on the order of what Felix was at one point when its winds exceeded 125 mph.
This is not the first time there have been three named storms in the Atlantic simultaneously, the National Hurricane Center said. The record is four named storms and that happened seven times since continuous records were first kept in 1882.
Storms earn names when their maximum sustained winds reach 39 mph; they become hurricanes when winds hit 74 mph.
Gray, a professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University, said his predictions may be exceeded, raising the possibility that this could turn into the busiest hurricane season on record in the Atlantic.
The distinction now belongs to the year 1933 when there were 21 named storms. That's also the year Hampton Roads was hit - not once, but twice. MEMO: For updates, call INFOLINE at 640-5555 and enter category 1237.
KEYWORDS: WEATHER HURRICANES STORMS by CNB