15:53 04Dec2003 RTRS-Off-season tropical depression forms in Caribbean

NEW YORK, Dec 4 (Reuters) - An off-season tropical depression
formed in the Caribbean Sea early Thursday and could become a
tropical storm later in the day, said the National Hurricane
Center in Miami, Florida.
The 20th tropical depression of the year was located about 320
miles south of Kingston, Jamaica, and was moving north-northeast
at about 10 miles per hour (mph).
It was packing winds near 35 mph with higher gusts.
The 2003 Atlantic hurricane season officially ended on
Sunday.
The NHC issued the following advisory at 10 a.m. Eastern time.
The next NHC advisory will be issued at 2 p.m.
Position: Lat. 13.3 degrees North
Long. 76.3 degrees West
(320 miles south of Kingston, Jamaica)
Track: North-northeast near 10 mph
Strength: 35 mph max. sustained winds with higher gusts
FORECAST POSITIONS AND MAXIMUM WINDS
INITIAL 04/1500 13.3N 76.3W 30 KT
12HR 05/0000 14.7N 75.5W 35 KT
24HR 05/1200 17.5N 74.7W 40 KT
36HR 06/0000 21.0N 73.5W 40 KT
48HR 06/1200 25.0N 70.5W 40 KT
72HR 07/1200 38.0N 60.0W 40 KT...EXTRATROPICAL
96HR 08/1200 ...EXTRATROPICAL
(NOTES -- Second column shows date and GMT time. To convert GMT
time to EST, subtract 5 hours. Third and fourth column show
coordinates. Fifth column shows maximum sustained speed in knots.
1 knot = 1.15 mph. 34 knots or greater is tropical storm strength.
64 knots or greater is hurricane strength. U.S. offshore oil and
natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico is concentrated North
of 27 degrees North and West of 88 degrees West.)

22:00 04Dec2003 UPDATE 1-Late-season tropical storm threatens Caribbean

(Updates throughout with storm strengthened, warnings added)
MIAMI, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and the Bahamas raised storm
warnings on Thursday as a rare December tropical storm formed in the Caribbean four days after the
hurricane season's official end.
Tropical Storm Odette had top winds of 40 mph (64 kph), just over the threshold to become a
named storm. It is the 15th Atlantic tropical storm or hurricane of 2003, making the year one of the
region's busiest ever recorded for tropical systems.
Jamaica and Haiti alerted residents to possible storm conditions within 24 hours. Haiti, the
poorest country in the Americas, has been stripped of much of its forest cover, leaving it
especially vulnerable to flash floods and mudslides from tropical storms.
A tropical storm watch, meaning possible storm conditions within 36 hours, was in effect for the
Dominican Republic west of Santo Domingo. The Bahamas raised a storm watch for its southeastern
islands including the Inaguas, Mayaguana, Acklins, Crooked Islands and Samana Cay.
The Turks and Caicos, a British colony south of the Bahamas, was also under a tropical storm
watch.
Most tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic and Caribbean form during the official
season that runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. But this season has been unusual, beginning with Tropical
Storm Ana, which formed in April.
At 4 p.m. EST (2100 GMT), Odette was centered about 280 miles (450 km) south-southeast of
Kingston, Jamaica, at latitude 14 north and longitude 75.6 west, the U.S. National Hurricane Center
said.
It was moving northeast at about 10 mph (16 kph), a track that would put it near Haiti and the
Windward Passage on Friday. It was expected to dump up to 10 inches (25 cm) of rain in its path.

14:22 05Dec2003 RTRS-Tropical Storm Odette south-southwest of Haiti on Fri.

NEW YORK, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Odette, a rare
post-season tropical storm, churned about 335 miles
south-southwest of Port au Prince, Haiti, early Friday.
And it should near the country's southern coast by early
Saturday, the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, said.
Odette, upgraded from a tropical depression on Thursday, was
packing winds near 45 miles per hour (mph) with higher gusts and
could strengthen during the next 24 hours, the NHC said.
The storm was moving northeast at about 6 mph.
The 2003 Atlantic hurricane season officially ended on
Sunday.
The NHC issued the following advisory at 7 a.m. Eastern time.
The next NHC advisory will be issued at 10 a.m.
Position: Lat. 14.6 degrees North
Long. 74.5 degrees West
(335 miles south-southeast of Port au Prince, Haiti)
Track: Northeast near 6 mph
Strength: 45 mph max. sustained winds with higher gusts
FORECAST POSITIONS AND MAXIMUM WINDS
INITIAL 05/0900 14.5N 74.5W 40 KT
12HR 05/1800 15.6N 73.8W 45 KT
24HR 06/0600 17.6N 72.7W 50 KT
36HR 06/1800 20.5N 70.5W 40 KT
48HR 07/0600 26.7N 65.5W 35 KT BECOMING EXTRATROPICAL
72HR 08/0600 ...ABSORBED BY FRONTAL ZONE
(NOTES -- Second column shows date and GMT time. To convert GMT
time to EST, subtract 5 hours. Third and fourth column show
coordinates. Fifth column shows maximum sustained speed in knots.
1 knot = 1.15 mph. 34 knots or greater is tropical storm strength.
64 knots or greater is hurricane strength. U.S. offshore oil and
natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico is concentrated North
of 27 degrees North and West of 88 degrees West.)

15:11 05Dec2003 RTRS-Storm Odette threatens Haiti, Dominican Republic

MIAMI, Dec 5 (Reuters) - A rare December tropical storm threatened on
Friday to bring dangerous downpours to Haiti and its next door neighbor, the
Dominican Republic, as it strengthened in the Caribbean.
Forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Tropical
Storm Odette could reach Haiti's southern coast by Saturday.
"There's certainly an outside chance of it intensifying as it moves
closer to Hispaniola," said Navy meteorologist Lt. Dave Roberts, referring
to the island that Haiti and the Dominican Republic share.
He said the storm's winds had increased to around 51 mph (82 kph).
Odette was around 335 miles (540 km) south-southwest of the Haitian capital
Port-au-Prince early on Friday and moving northeast at 6 mph (10 kph).
But heavy rains that could exceed 10 inches (25 cm) in mountain areas,
and resulting flash floods, posed more of a threat than strong winds to
Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas. Haiti has been stripped of much
of its forest cover, leaving it especially vulnerable to mudslides.
Odette was the first tropical storm since records began in 1871 to form
in the Caribbean in December, after the end of the official June 1-Nov. 30
hurricane season, the National Hurricane Center said. Tropical storms and
hurricanes have formed before in the Atlantic in December.
Odette's surprise appearance came as a noted hurricane forecaster, Dr.
William Gray of Colorado State University, predicted a better-than-average
chance of a major hurricane hitting the United States in the 2004 season.
Gray on Friday estimated that 13 storms will form in 2004, of which
seven will grow to hurricane strength. Three of those would be major
hurricanes, with winds over 110 mph (177 kph), Gray forecast.
Tropical storm warnings or watches were in effect for Haiti, parts of
the Dominican Republic west of the capital Santo Domingo, Jamaica, the
southeastern Bahamas and the small British colony of the Turks and Caicos
islands, which lie south of the Bahamas.
Odette is the 15th tropical storm or hurricane in the Atlantic-Caribbean
region in 2003, making this year one of the busiest ever recorded.
Not only is the season ending out of character with a rare December
storm, but it also began unusually early when Tropical Storm Ana formed in
April.
Gray dismissed any link between the above-average storm activity in
recent years and global warming, which some scientists blame on industrial
pollution.

"Brendan DJ Murphy" wrote in message


How unusual is this sort of activity in such regions?

Storms that powerful over here at this time of year are unremarkable.


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