Hurricane Katia, Its Helper, And An Uncertain Floridian Future

There are some indications that a small tropical storm will generate in the Gulf of Mexico over the next few days and linger off the coast of Louisiana before moving west to Texas. By itself, this storm shouldn’t be much of a problem for Tampa, Florida residents (except possibly for waves at the beach).

Nevertheless, I’m concerned that the simple presence of that tropical storm will remove an atmospheric pressure barrier that would ordinarily keep Hurricane Katia away from Florida. It’s possible that Katia could make a direct hit on Florida near Cape Canaveral around September 10th or 11th, and then cross the state and reappear in the Gulf of Mexico near Tampa. Even though such a storm would be seriously downgraded as it crossed the state, it would still disrupt life throughout the state, including the Tampa area (possible tornadoes, lots of rain, etc.). In addition, it might strengthen again over the Gulf of Mexico, and continue elsewhere on its path of mayhem.

So, we’ll need to keep an eye on Hurricane Katia and the as-yet unnamed Gulf of Mexico storm, until we better understand their intentions.