In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

If the Nashville flood, the Oklahoma tornadoes, the Gulf Coast oil spill and the Times Square attempted bombing haven’t persuaded the public to think about preparing for an emergency, maybe news that Accuweather forecaster Joe Bastardi is predicting this year’s hurricane season will be in the “Top Ten” with 16 to 18 “named” storms will help do the trick.

According to Examiner.com,

The 2010 Atlantic hurricane season may rival some of the worst in history with meteorological conditions mirroring the 2005 season, the record-breaking year that spawned the Mississippi/New Orleans devastating hurricane named Katrina. According to Accuweather.com’s chief hurricane meteorologist, Joe Bastardi, not only will it be a very active hurricane season ahead, but it could even rank in the top 10 most active seasons.

Bastardi is predicting a total of 16 to 18 named storms this season. If this prediction comes to past, the 2010 hurricane season will rank in the top 10 with only 8 years in 160 years on record with seasons of 16 or more named storms. He also predicts the season will begin early and remain active well into the month of October. He cited a rapid warming of the Gulf of Mexico and the collapsing El Nino pattern for the heightened forecast activity. Both situations were characteristic of the busy 1998 and record-setting 2005 hurricane seasons.

Many of the tropical named storms are forecast to be long lived storms that may track far across the Atlantic and Caribbean from the coast of Africa to the U.S. Coastline with at least 6 possible strikes.

Colorado State forecaster William Gray also has predicted an above average season though not as severe as Bastardi’s prediction. Thanks to the Twitter feed of @Break_Glass for bringing this to my attention. Accuweather.com also has a related article that asks “What If A Hurricane Were To Slam Into The Oil Slick?”: The answer: nothing good.