Potential Tropical Storm Headed toward Caribbean
A woman carries cotton candy through a flooded street caused by heavy rains overnight in the Cite Soleil neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Thursday Feb. 18, 2010. The capital city of Haiti is particularly vulnerable to rains at this moment as it recovers from the heavy damage it suffered during last month's earthquake. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)
Chief Hurricane Expert Joe Bastardi is predicting that the strong wave in the Atlantic Basin will move northwestward, reaching the Caribbean this weekend, and could hit Haiti with flooding rains.
This system, the first in the Atlantic, whether it is upgraded to a tropical depression or storm, could lead to heavy rainfall and flooding in Haiti and Dominican Republic.
Another system is also anticipated in the next five to 10 days.
This reflects the hurricane season prediction first made by AccuWeather.com in February, weeks after the Haitian earthquake on Jan. 12.
Bastardi predicted that rain could be a major issue for the already ravaged Haiti.
The early nature of the African wave train may be a precursor to a big season for hurricanes and tropical storms.
Bastardi is predicting 16 to 18 named storms and believes the greater threat is a possible six to 10 storms impacting the United States coastline.
This hurricane season may exacerbate an already wild weather year following record-cold temperatures and snowfall from the winter season. For the Southeast states, Bastardi is predicting a top-10 summer in terms of heat and humidity.
Bastardi concludes that this hurricane season may also be a record-breaker with the worst case scenario being a top two or three hurricane season in recorded history.
For Texas through the mid-Atlantic states, Bastardi says there is the potential for a "once in a lifetime" weather year because of the combination of the extreme winter followed by the record heat and hurricane threats during the summer months.
The most recent example of a similar December to December weather pattern was 1963 to 1964, according to Bastardi. That year recorded more-than-normal snow, followed by warmer-than-average summer temperatures and active hurricanes around Florida.
Content contributed by Kirstie Hettinga, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer
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WeatherWhys®
People need to pay close attention to the UV index during this time of year. On a sunny day late in the spring and into the summer, the UV is usually at least an 8, which is very high. Readings over 11 are considered extreme values in which only 10 minutes of full exposure to the sun will produce a sunburn.
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