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 News from Around the Americas | October 2005 
Tropical Storm Alpha Forms in Caribbean
 Ron Word - Associated Press
| A portion of the status board at the National Hurricane Center in Miami shows some of the names of tropical cyclones for the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season.
(AP Photo/Andy Newman) |
Tropical Storm Alpha formed this weekend in the Caribbean, setting the record for the most named storms in an Atlantic hurricane season and marking the first time forecasters had to turn to the Greek alphabet for names.
The previous record of 21 named storms had stood since 1933. Alpha was the 22nd to reach tropical storm strength this year, and the season doesn't end until Nov. 30.
At 2 a.m. EDT, the storm had sustained winds near 50 mph and was moving northwest near 14 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. It was about 60 miles south-southwest of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.
Tropical storm warnings were in place for Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and the Turks and Caicos islands and the southeastern Bahamas. Alpha was expected to hit the Dominican Republic early Sunday, but forecasters say it wasn't expected to threaten the United States.
Since 1995, the Atlantic has been in a period of higher hurricane activity, a cycle expected to last at least another 10 years.
Scientists say the cause of the increase is a rise in ocean temperatures and a decrease in the amount of disruptive vertical wind shear that rips hurricanes apart.
The busy seasons are part of a natural cycle that can last for at least 20 years, and sometimes 40 to 50, forecasters at the hurricane center say. The current conditions, they say, are similar to those in the 1950s and 60s.
The U.S. Gulf Coast has been battered this year by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Dennis — and Wilma is expected next. It had sustained winds of about 100 mph as it moved over the Yucatan Peninsula on Saturday and was expected to reach southern Florida on Monday. A hurricane watch was in effect for the state's entire southern peninsula.
Wilma was the last on the list of 21 storm names for 2005; the letters q, u, x, y and z are skipped. The Greek alphabet provides a continuation of that list but had never been used in six decades of regularly naming Atlantic storms.
At 2 a.m. EDT, Wilma had maximum sustained winds near 100 mph. It was located about 55 miles north of Cancun, Mexico, or about 370 miles west-southwest of Key West, Fla.
On the Net: National Hurricane Center: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov
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