Arlene makes landfall in the US by Jay Wynne
Tropical storm Arlene has hit the US coast. The storm made landfall on the Alabama-Florida border at around 1900 GMT on Saturday, driving many people into nearby storm shelters.
The first named storm of the hurricane season, which commenced on June 1st, had threatened to strengthen to hurricane force (above 74mph / 118km/h) for a time but had sustained winds of only 60mph / 97km/h when it came ashore just west of Pensacola, Florida. Despite its weakened status, Arlene still packed enough punch to bring sheets of rain, 20ft waves and strong winds to the area, causing power cuts and closing bridges.
Many feared that Arlene would undo the clean-up and rebuild efforts of the damage caused by hurricane Ivan just nine months ago. Many homes are still under repair with some houses using plastic as roofing. Ivan hit the area with 120mph (193km/h) winds, a category 3 hurricane, on September 16th last year. In its wake almost 30 people lost their lives and there was widespread destruction. Luckily this year the season has started with just a gentle reminder. Initial reports of Arlene’s damage were minimal. No-body was said to be injured in the storm, although thousands of homes and business along the Gulf Coast were left without power. Some flooding was also reported along the Alabama coastline.
In Cuba however, the story wasn’t quite so gentle. The storm drenched western parts of the country on Friday bringing heavy rain, strong winds and flooding to many, although some parts welcomed the rains with open arms. In the tobacco-growing province of Pinar Del Rio the rains gave some relief to the longest drought in a century.
Arlene is now classified as a tropical depression with winds of just 30mph (48 km/h. The tropical storm lost some of its energy when it made landfall on the US coast, no-longer being fuelled by the warm moist waters of the Caribbean. All hurricane and tropical storm warnings are now lifted although meteorologist are still expecting up to 6 inches (150mm) of rain from the remnants of the storm along the Mississippi valley as it continues its journey northwards.
Meteorologists are predicting an active hurricane season this year with 15 tropical storms expected, 8 of which developing into hurricanes. It would seem as though the season has kicked off in tune to the forecast, but this indicator cannot be taken literally. Last year’s season started late with the first storm not making an appearance until the 31st July (Hurricane Alex), however the 2004 season ended very active with 16 storms and 9 hurricanes.
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