National Hurricane Center

Weather Week: A Little Rain, a Lot of Sun and Plenty of Heat

The past few nights, I've sat outside on a patio for dinner. This was not my choice, but I gladly obliged. When the breeze did blow, it wasn't bad. When it was still, I felt every sweat gland in my physical being activate. Summertime in Houston is like that, and that warm, sticky weather is with us ... More >>

Firstborn: Tropical Storm Andrea Forms in Gulf of Mexico

It seems like only yesterday we were here talking about the opening of hurricane season. Well, technically, day before yesterday. And just like that, we have our first named storm. Last night, the National Hurricane Center upgraded the disturbance formerly known as 91L to tropical storm status and i ... More >>

Hunker Down: The Hurricane Forecasts Are Out. Five Things to Keep in Mind

It's that time again. No, not hurricane season, it's hurricane predictin' season, partner. So, get out yer slide rule and a room full of super computers. Grab the nerdiest guy you can find and shelter in place because this is going to be a wild ride. Every year in April, the forecasters begin layin ... More >>

Hurricane Season is Over for Houston!! (According To Our Bold Prediction); Cooler Weather On the Way, God's In His Heaven, Etc., Etc.

Yeah, you heard me. It might sound like a bold prediction, but it's actually safer than you think. I've often told my friends that my favorite day of the year is October 1. The reason for this is that football season has started, basketball training camp is about to open, the holidays are on the wa ... More >>

Five Lessons Learned from Hurricane Isaac

The circus has finally left New Orleans as they begin their clean up after Hurricane Isaac dropped boatloads of rain on the Big Easy earlier this week. Despite some dire early warnings and a near-miss of the GOP convention in Tampa Bay, Isaac was fairly tame by hurricane standards. That didn't stop ... More >>

Rest Easy, Texas (Well, Not Too Easy): Tropical Storm Isaac Inching Its Way Toward Louisiana

Fortunately for everyone along the Gulf Coast, Isaac is still a tropical storm as of Monday morning. The storm has yet to form a solid inner core thanks to some wind shear from an upper-level disturbance near it, but that will change as it moves toward the northern Gulf Coast. Isaac should slow down ... More >>

Tropics Heating Up as We Reach the Stretch Run of Hurricane Season

Despite June and July's tropical bluster, as predicted, it's been a fairly quiet hurricane season. With eight named storms, three of which were hurricanes -- none of them stronger than a category two and only one making landfall (in Mexico) -- the pace has been just about what forecasters thought at ... More >>

Debby Does Houston? Disturbance in the Gulf Bears Watching

The images you see above are recent model runs from two of the major weather forecasting models, both predicting a large hurricane -- which would bear the name Debby -- along the Texas coast middle of next week. And you thought the only supplies you'd be stocking up on next week were fireworks for J ... More >>

Hurricane Season 2012: The Predictions -- A Quiet Year in the Tropics?

With so few storms impacting the U.S. last season and with one of the worst droughts in recorded history gripping our region, it would be tempting to think that last year was a down year in hurricane production. In fact, it was quite the opposite. In 2011, the Atlantic produced 19 named storms incl ... More >>

Bold Prediction: Nate Won't Hit Houston and Neither Will Any Other Hurricanes This Season

One of the reliable forecast models showing Nate hitting Mexico, leaving us high and dry.​I'm not much of a betting man, but if I were, I would take odds that the Texas coast, and Houston specifically, will see no hurricane landfalls in 2011. We have a pretty substantial tropical storm in Nate ... More >>

Tropical Storm Don: Will Houston See Any Effects?

Is that a cone of uncertainty in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me?​As we thought, the forecast models, using the data from the National Hurricane Center reconnaissance aircraft came into fairly good agreement last night on the track of Tropical Storm Don and, unfortunately, it d ... More >>

Dandy Don? Tropical Storm Could Bring Drought Relief This Weekend

Courtesy Weather UndergroundSee that little cloud mass by the Yucatan Peninsula...that's our boy!​Remember a couple weeks ago when I told you that just because it had been quiet in the tropics, that didn't mean it would stay that way? Well, I hate to say I told you so. A disturbance that will ... More >>

TS Don: And Then, Depression Set In -- Tropical Storm Could Bear Down on Texas by Friday (Updated)

Courtesy National Hurricane CenterLittle Donnie is getting bigger.​The National Hurricane Center reconnaissance plane found winds strong enough in Invest 90 to declare it the fourth tropical depression tropical storm of the 2011 hurricane season -- their next full report is at 6 p.m. As we m ... More >>

Hurricane Update: The Calm Before the Storm?

Let's hope not.​This year has brought record droughts, killer tornados and devastating flooding, yet our hurricane season has yet to rev up. This may cause some to believe we could be spared from substantial tropical activity this year. Don't believe it. What may seem like a quiet tropical At ... More >>

App of the Week: Top Nine Websites for Hurricane Season

Literally, the weather authority when it comes to hurricanes, it's hard to beat the NHC.​I swear that after this post, I will stop talking about weather apps and websites for a while, but since it is hurricane season here on the Gulf Coast, I figured one more post won't hurt anybody and it mig ... More >>

App of the Week: Three Hurricane Tracking Apps Just in Time for Hurricane Season

Hurricane is about as good as it gets for tracking storms on your phone.​App: Hurricane Platforms: iPhone Web site: Apple Link Cost: $3.99 App: iHurricane HD Platforms: iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile Web site: Download Link Cost: $2.99 App: Hurricane Tracker Platforms: iPhone Web ... More >>

Sondheim, Con Men and Certain Death

Highlights from the Blog at HOUSTONPRESS.COM

How Much More Clear Than "Certain Death" Can You Be?

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel has a story up today about how the National Weather Service plans to offer guidelines on changing the warnings it gives for hurricanes and tornadoes, because not enough people are paying attention to them.Reports the paper:"It's not necessarily an overhaul. It's just b ... More >>

Turkeys of the Year

DA Chuck Rosenthal flies off with top honors

The Sound of Ike

Oh No! Lots of "Hello Dolly" Puns!

Time to Watch the Tropics?

Global Warming Is Good for You!

Cheap heating bills! Great gardens! Thriving civilizations! In energy-crazed Houston, friends of greenhouse gases abound