Ascension : Met Office Ascension Island Base
Submitted by The Islander (Met Office) 28.05.2009 (Article Archived on 11.06.2009)

The Met Office Weather Report

Statistics for the week ending Monday 18^th 2009

       The seasons are changing

Well the weather seems to have returned to its reliable old self this last couple of days, with the clouds finally rising above Green Mountain again. St Helena has had a splendid week, with hardly any rain and long hours of sunshine, although the cloudy season is not far away. The Falklands are about to head into their Winter, and the temperatures are responding, with more nights now falling below zero. Conversely, Summer approaches in the UK, and many have enjoyed an unusually good Bank holiday weekend.

Looking further west, we will soon see the 2009 Hurricane season commence; the official start date is 1^st June. A hurricane is defined as an area of low pressure with no fronts, over tropical or sub-tropical waters, and has sustained surface winds of 64KT or greater. Each year, hurricanes are given short, distinctive names, as chosen by the World Meteorological Organisation. There are six lists of names which are rotated. This year’s list is given below.

2009 Atlantic Hurricane names

Some years, an unusually high number of Hurricanes and Tropical storms, will mean that more names are needed. In these years, the Greek alphabet is used once the list has been exhausted. The naming system was started in 1953, and originally only used woman’s names; however, men’s names were included by 1979. Although the lists are rotated, some names will be removed, should they be attached to a particularly nasty storm; those that have caused great loss of life or incredible damage. Examples include Hurricanes Hugo, Andrew, and more recently, Katrina. Officially, the Atlantic Hurricane season will run through to the end of November.