Hurricane Bertha is the earliest storm to form off the coast of Africa. Is this a bad sign for the 08 season?

Question

Hurricane Bertha is the earliest storm to form off the coast of Africa. Is this a bad sign for the 08 season?

Answer 1

yep, the NY Jets will suck this year.

Answer 2

Sorry, Michel, but as of 5AM this morning, Bertha was sustaining winds of 105mph and is projected to remain above hurricane force winds until at least Sunday.  Maybe your google pulled up an older weather report.

To answer the original question, I don't think one storm makes much of a projection for the season, so no, I wouldn't be too worried, as of now, for the rest of the year.

Answer 3

The fact that Bertha has recurved away from the U.S. may actually suggest the U.S. coasts will be less threatened from African storms this year.  Assuming the same general weather pattern holds through the summer, we would expect most hurricanes coming off of Africa to follow a similar track to Bertha.  Of course, if there is a pattern change, which is yet to be seen, then all bets are off.

Answer 4

After googling,  I read about Bertha:

- "Maximum sustained winds are near 45 mph"

... I am sorry guys but that is a gale wind, not a storm and certainly not a hurricane!

By international standard, a storm is wind between 55 and 63 MPH and a hurricane is above 73 MPH.

If they want to give it a letter in the alphabet, that's their privilege. But it is not a storm, simply a gale.

I have myself sailed easily in winds around 45 MPH and more. Years ago, I crossed the Strait of Gibraltar when the Spanish radio announced that the wind was exceeding 90 km/h (56 MPH) in a 25 feet gaff-rigged cutter built in 1936 in Falmouth. ... it went like a charm!

Answer 5

Not necessarily.  There is no correlation between the time of first formation of the season, and the intensity of the season.