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The early arrival of a tropical storm off the U.S. east coast doesnot mean Eastern Canada should brace for a particularly activehurricane season, Canadian forecasters said Thursday. Bob Robichaud of the Canadian Hurricane Centre is predicting anaverage number of hurricanes this year, despite the formation oftropical storm Alberto off South Carolina last weekend. "If we look back since 1950, there have been 11 times we've seenstorms develop in May," Robichaud told a news conference at thecentre's headquarters in Dartmouth, N.S. "In about half those years, the entire season has ended up beingnear or below normal. So even though we did get a storm early onthis season, it's not necessarily an indicator that it will be anoverly busy season." Alberto has been downgraded to post-tropical status and is expectedto stay offshore as it moves up the Atlantic coast. U.S. forecasters with the National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration released their outlook Thursday for the six-monthhurricane season, which begins June 1. They are predicting between 9 and 15 named storms this year, withone to three expected to become major hurricanes with sustainedwinds of 178 kilometres per hour. Forecasters are keeping an eye on hurricane Bud as it churns in thePacific Ocean. The storm was expected to reach the southwesterncoast of Mexico on Friday. El Nino expected in late fall In Dartmouth, Robichaud said there are a number of factors thatcould change the forecast, including the arrival of El Nino in thelate fall a warming of surface ocean temperatures in the easternPacific. "Whenever we have an El Nino, it tends to be a suppressant tohurricane activity," he said. On average, one or two storms directly affect Canadian territoryevery year, with another two or three threatening offshore waters. Residents of the East Coast are well acquainted with warnings tostock up on batteries, flashlights and water as storms approach.But thrill-seekers often can't resist flocking to the coastline tofeel the stinging spray from waves pounding rocks. Last August, the remnants of hurricane Irene smacked Eastern Canadawith powerful gusts and torrential rain, flooding roads, snappingtrees and knocking down power lines. Hundreds of thousands of people in Quebec, New Brunswick and NovaScotia were left without electricity as the post-tropical stormpassed through. But the region emerged relatively unscathed from the sprawlingstorm, which killed more than 20 people along the Eastern Seaboardin the United States before it weakened. Hundreds of island homeswere destroyed when Irene slammed into the Bahamas as a Category 3hurricane. Weeks later, hurricane Katia kicked up big waves along the EastCoast as it churned in the Atlantic Ocean. The Category 1 stormdidn't make landfall. 'Nothing wrong with being overly prepared' Hurricane Maria pummelled parts of Newfoundland in mid-Septemberwith gusts in excess of 100 km/h. The following month, the remnantsof hurricane Ophelia took a parting shot at the island, dumpingheavy rain and forcing a handful of evacuations when it madelandfall on the Avalon Peninsula. But neither storm packed the same punch as hurricane Igor inSeptember 2011. Igor was a Category 1 storm with gusts of 140 km/h when it roaredthrough the island, dumping 200 millimetres of rain, causing onefatality and almost $200 million in widespread damage. The World Meteorological Organization has since removed Irene andIgor from its list of storm names. The name Juan was retired nearlya decade ago after hurricane Juan roared through Halifax and PrinceEdward Island, causing $100 million in damage. The vicious storm was blamed for at least eight deaths in September2003 and was the worst storm to hit Halifax in more than 100 years. Steve Mills of Nova Scotia's Emergency Management Office saidpeople shouldn't become complacent despite this year's predictions. Hurricane Andrew ravaged parts of southern Florida and Louisianawhen it struck in 1992 during what was expected to be a light stormseason, he said. At least 40 people were killed. "Because of Andrew alone, it turned out to be one of the mostdevastating years in hurricane history," said Mills. "It only takes one Andrew, just as in Nova Scotia in 2003 it onlytook one Juan. There's nothing wrong with being overly prepared. Inour business, the opposite approach can be disastrous.". The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Wrist Watch Cell Phone , China Android TV Dongles, and more. For more , please visit Quad Band Watch Phone today!
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