Template:Future The 2006 Atlantic hurricane season will be an ongoing event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. It will officially start June 1, 2006, and last until November 30, 2006. However, any systems which form and receive a number from the NHC between January and May will count as part of the 2006 season.

Seasonal forecasts

Forecasts of hurricane activity are issued before each hurricane season by noted hurricane expert Dr. William M. Gray and his associates at Colorado State University, and separately by NOAA forecasters.

Dr. Gray's team defines the average number of storms per season (1950 to 2000) as 9.6 tropical storms, 5.9 hurricanes, and 2.3 hurricanes reaching or exceeding Category 3 strength. A normal season, as defined by NOAA, has 6 to 14 named storms, with 4 to 8 of those reaching hurricane strength, and 1 to 3 reaching or exceeding Category 3 strength on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

Preseason forecasts

On December 5, 2005, Dr. Gray's team issued its first extended-range forecast for the 2006 season, predicting a well above-average season (17 named storms, 9 hurricanes, 5 of Category 3 or higher). [1]

Additionally, once again, the team predicted a high potential for at least one major hurricane to directly impact the United States: the forecast indicates an 81% chance of at least one major hurricane striking the U.S. mainland (including a 64% chance of at least one major hurricane strike on the East Coast of the United States including the Florida peninsula, and a 47% chance of at least one major hurricane strike on the Gulf Coast of the United States from the Florida Panhandle westward). In addition, the potential for major hurricane activity in the Caribbean is above average.

Storms

Tropical Storm Zeta

At the start of calendar year 2006, and for only the second time in recorded history, a storm from one tropical cyclone season survived into the following season, after Hurricane Alice of 1954. For more information, see Zeta's entry on the 2005 season page.

Timeline of events

January

January 1

• 0000 UTC (7pm EST, December 31 2005) - The year 2006 begins with Tropical Storm Zeta active, only the second time a storm existed in two calendar years.

2006 storm names

The following names will be used for named storms that form in the North Atlantic in 2006. The names not retired from this list will be used again in the 2012 season. The list is the same as the 2000 list except for Kirk, which replaced Keith.

One storm from the 2005 season persisted into 2006. It was named as a storm of the 2005 season.

• Zeta (active)

Names to be retired, if any, will be announced by the World Meteorological Organization in the spring of 2007.

See also

Template:Tcportal

• List of notable tropical cyclones
• List of Atlantic hurricane seasons
• 2006 Pacific hurricane season
• 2006 Pacific typhoon season
• 2006-07 Southern Hemisphere Cyclone Seasons

External links

• National Hurricane Center's Atlantic Tropical Weather Outlook - updated four times daily beginning June 1, 2006
• National Hurricane Center
• National Hurricane Center's 2006 Archive - link disabled until first storm of 2006 forms
• Flash Hurricane Tracker - track active and archived hurricanes.

Template:Atlantic hurricane season categories