| Lixion Avila | |
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 Avila in 2017 | |
| Born | 25 November 1950  (age 70)Cuba |
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Lixion A. Avila (born November 25, 1950) is a retired weather forecaster, formerly working at the National Hurricane Center (NHC). He was a hurricane specialist and senior hurricane specialist from 1987 to 2020. [1] [2]
Avila was born and raised in Cuba. [3] He studied and received his Bachelor of Science degree in meteorology from the University of Havana in 1973, then worked for Cuba's weather service for seven years. [3] [4]
Avila was not able to study further in Cuba and with some help from his mother's family emigrated to the United States. [3] [5]
He was hired as a consultant for the National Hurricane Center in 1983, providing warning information in Spanish for the radio and television press. He obtained his MSc degree in 1987 at the University of Miami and became a forecaster at the NHC, graduating to hurricane specialist in 1989. Continuing his studies further, he obtained a PhD in 1993. Avila represented the National Hurricane Center at the World Meteorological Organization, especially for the coordination and training in the Caribbean and Central American region. [4]
Avila retired from the NHC on April 30, 2020, after working at the agency for 33 years. [6]
Avila is a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society. [7] In 2000, Avila received a NOAA Administrator's Award. [8] In 2005, the National Weather Service bestowed him the Isaac M. Cline National Award for Outreach. [4]
Avila generally forecasts with a quirky personal touch. Similar to his NHC counterpart James Franklin, Avila occasionally expresses his opinion or sense of humor, often in the discussion areas of advisories. For instance, during 2005's record-breaking Hurricane Epsilon, he expressed his frustration at the hurricane's refusal to weaken despite repeated predictions that it would do so: "There are no clear reasons...and I am not going to make one up...to explain the recent strengthening of Epsilon and I am just describing the facts." He further signed off this discussion with, "...Epsilon will likely become a remnant low. I heard that before about Epsilon... Haven't you?" [9]
While describing Hurricane Leslie, in 2018, he quipped, "It is difficult to add more to the discussion about a cyclone that has moved very little during the past few days and has not changed significantly in structure either." [10]
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is the division of the United States' NOAA/National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting tropical weather systems between the Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian west poleward to the 30th parallel north in the northeast Pacific Ocean and the 31st parallel north in the northern Atlantic Ocean. The agency, which is co-located with the Miami branch of the National Weather Service, is situated on the campus of Florida International University in University Park, Florida.
The 1999 Atlantic hurricane season had five Category 4 hurricanes – the highest number recorded in a single season in the Atlantic basin, previously tied in 1961, and later tied in 2005 and 2020. The season officially began on June 1, and ended on November 30. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. It was a fairly active season, mostly due to a persistent La Niña that developed in the latter half of 1998. The first storm, Arlene, formed on June 11 to the southeast of Bermuda. It meandered slowly for a week and caused no impact on land. Other tropical cyclones that did not affect land were Hurricane Cindy, Tropical Storm Emily, and Tropical Depression Twelve. Localized or otherwise minor damage occurred from Hurricanes Bret, Gert, and Jose, Tropical Storms Harvey and Katrina.
James Louis Franklin is a former weather forecaster encompassing a 35-year career with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). He served as the first branch chief of the newly formed Hurricane Specialist Unit (HSU) before his retirement in 2017.
The 2012 Pacific hurricane season was a moderately active Pacific hurricane season that saw an unusually high number of tropical cyclones pass west of the Baja California Peninsula. The season officially started on May 15 in the eastern Pacific, and on June 1 in the central Pacific, and ended on November 30; these dates conventionally delimit the period during which most tropical cyclones form in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. However, with the formation of Tropical Storm Aletta on May 14 the season slightly exceeded these bounds.
The Hurricane Databases (HURDAT), managed by the National Hurricane Center, are two separate databases that contain details on tropical cyclones, that have occurred within the Atlantic Ocean and Eastern Pacific Ocean since 1851 and 1949 respectively.
Tropical Storm Fay was a strong and unusual tropical storm that moved erratically across the state of Florida and the Caribbean Sea. The sixth named storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, Fay formed from a vigorous tropical wave on August 15 over the Dominican Republic. It passed over the island of Hispaniola, into the Gulf of Gonâve, across the island of Cuba, and made landfall on the Florida Keys late in the afternoon of August 18 before veering into the Gulf of Mexico. It again made landfall near Naples, Florida, in the early hours of August 19 and progressed northeast through the Florida peninsula, emerging into the Atlantic Ocean near Melbourne on August 20. Extensive flooding took place in parts of Florida as a result of its slow movement. On August 21, it made landfall again near New Smyrna Beach, Florida, moving due west across the Panhandle, crossing Gainesville and Panama City, Florida. As it zigzagged from water to land, it became the first storm in recorded history to make landfall in Florida four times. Thirty-six deaths were blamed on Fay. The storm also resulted in one of the most prolific tropical cyclone related tornado outbreaks on record. A total of 81 tornadoes touched down across five states, three of which were rated as EF2. Damage from Fay was heavy, estimated at $560 million.
The 2017 Pacific hurricane season was significantly less active than the previous three Pacific hurricane seasons, featuring eighteen named storms, nine hurricanes, and four major hurricanes. Despite the considerable amount of activity, most of the storms were weak and short-lived. The season officially started on May 15 in the eastern Pacific, and on June 1 in the central Pacific; they both ended on November 30. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the basin. However, the formation of tropical cyclones is possible at any time of the year. This was demonstrated when the first storm, Tropical Storm Adrian, was named on May 10, and became the earliest-known tropical storm in the East Pacific since the advent of satellite imagery until Tropical Storm Andres in 2021 broke the record. The season saw near-average activity in terms of accumulated cyclone energy (ACE), in stark contrast to the extremely active seasons in 2014, 2015, and 2016; and for the first time since 2012, no tropical cyclones formed in the Central Pacific basin. However, for the third year in a row, the season featured above-average activity in July, with the ACE value being the fifth highest for the month. Damage across the basin reached $375.28 million (2017 USD), while 45 people were killed by the various storms.
Hurricane Epsilon was the 27th named tropical or subtropical storm and the final of 15 hurricanes in the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. Originating from a cold front beneath an upper-level low, Epsilon formed on November 29 about 915 mi (1470 km) east of Bermuda, becoming the second tropical storm to do so in that area of the Atlantic within the span of a week. Initially, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecast the storm to transition into an extratropical cyclone within five days, due to conditions unfavorable for significant intensification. Epsilon continually defied forecasts, at first due to an unexpected loop to the southwest, and later due to retaining its strength despite cold waters and strong wind shear.
Hurricane Adrian was an intense, albeit short-lived early-season category 4 hurricane that brought heavy rainfall and high waves to Mexico in June 2011 during the 2011 Pacific hurricane season. Adrian originated from an area of disturbed weather which had developed during the course of early June, off the Pacific coast of Mexico. On June 7, it acquired a sufficiently organized structure with deep convection to be classified as a tropical cyclone, and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) designated it as Tropical Depression One-E, the first one of 2011. It further strengthened to be upgraded into a tropical storm later that day. Adrian moved rather slowly; briefly recurving northward after being caught in the steering winds. After steady intensification, it was upgraded into a hurricane on June 9. The storm subsequently entered a phase of rapid intensification, developing a distinct eye with good outflow in all quadrants. Followed by this period of rapid intensification, it obtained sustained winds fast enough to be considered a major hurricane and reached its peak intensity as a category 4 hurricane that evening.
The history of Atlantic tropical cyclone warnings details the progress of tropical cyclone warnings in the north Atlantic Ocean. The first service was set up in the 1870s from Cuba with the work of Father Benito Viñes. After his death, hurricane warning services were assumed by the US Army Signal Corps and United States Weather Bureau over the next few decades, first based in Jamaica and Cuba before shifting to Washington, D.C.. The central office in Washington, which would evolve into the National Meteorological Center and the Weather Prediction Center, assumed the responsibilities by the early 20th century. This responsibility passed to regional hurricane offices in 1935, and the concept of the Atlantic hurricane season was established in order to keep a vigilant lookout for tropical cyclones during certain times of the year. Hurricane advisories issued every 12 hours by the regional hurricane offices began at this time.
The meteorological history of Hurricane Dennis spanned twenty-two days, beginning with its inception as a tropical wave over Africa on June 26, 2005, and terminating with its dissipation on July 18 over the Great Lakes of North America. The incipient wave that became Dennis emerged over the Atlantic Ocean on June 29 and moved briskly to the west. Dry air initially inhibited development, though once this abated the wave was able to consolidate into a tropical depression on July 4. The depression soon crossed Grenada before entering the Caribbean whereupon increasingly favorable environmental factors, such as low wind shear and high sea surface temperatures, fueled intensification. Turning west-northwest, the system achieved tropical storm status on July 5 and hurricane status the following day.
Hurricane Matthew was the first Category 5 Atlantic hurricane since Felix in 2007 and the southernmost Category 5 Atlantic hurricane on record. The system originated from a tropical wave that emerged off the west coast of Africa on September 22, and ultimately dissipated as an extratropical cyclone near Atlantic Canada on October 10. Late on September 29, it began a period of explosive intensification that brought it to Category 5 strength early on October 1. It weakened slightly and remained a Category 4 until its landfalls in Haiti and Cuba, afterwards it traversed through the Bahamas and paralleled the coast of Florida until making landfall in South Carolina as a Category 1 hurricane. Matthew later transitioned into a post-tropical cyclone on October 10.
The 2021 Atlantic hurricane season is an ongoing Atlantic hurricane season, which is part of the annual tropical cyclone season in the Northern Hemisphere. It officially began on June 1, 2021, and will end on November 30, 2021. These dates, adopted by convention, historically describe the period in each year when most Atlantic tropical cyclones form. However, subtropical or tropical cyclogenesis is possible at any time of the year, as was the case this season, when Tropical Storm Ana formed on May 22, making 2021 the seventh consecutive year that a storm formed before the official start of the season. The season had the most active June, tying 1886, 1909, 1936, and 1968 with three named storms forming in the month of June. Then, on July 1, Hurricane Elsa formed, surpassing 2020's Tropical Storm Edouard as the earliest-forming fifth named storm on record by five days.
The 2020 Pacific hurricane season was the least active Pacific hurricane season since 2011. The season was near average in terms of tropical storms, featuring a total of 17, but had a well below average number of hurricanes and major hurricanes, with only 4 hurricanes and 3 major hurricanes forming. Despite this, it featured the earliest start to a season east of 140°W on record, with Tropical Depression One-E forming on April 25. The season officially began on May 15 in the East Pacific Ocean, and on June 1 in the Central Pacific and they both ended on November 30. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Pacific basin. However, the formation of tropical cyclones is possible at any time of the year, as shown by the record-early formation of Tropical Depression One-E.
The 2021 Pacific hurricane season is an ongoing event of the annual tropical cyclone season in the Northern Hemisphere. The season officially began on May 15 in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, and on June 1 in the Central Pacific; both will end on November 30. These dates historically describe the period each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Pacific Ocean basin and are adopted by convention. However, the formation of tropical cyclones is possible at any time of the year, as illustrated by the formation of Tropical Storm Andres on May 9. Andres was the earliest forming tropical storm in the northeastern Pacific proper on record, surpassing Tropical Storm Adrian of 2017 by 12 hours.
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