FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — Florida has no shortage of hurricane-fighting ambitions, but an audacious venture in Washington state measures about Category 5: It's a Bill Gates-funded effort to destroy the devastating storms.
Good luck with that, experts say.
Three Florida universities are tackling more manageable parts of the puzzle:
* Florida State University has developed a computer model intended to improve the accuracy of hurricane predictions.
* The University of Miami plans to build a $48-million research complex to simulate how hurricane winds slash into coastal structures.
* Florida International University plans to employ a powerful machine, capable of producing 130 mph-winds, as part of a separate program to study wind damage.
Meanwhile, Intellectual Ventures, a private firm in Bellevue, Wash., intends to banish hurricanes altogether.
All of this research should strengthen the nation's efforts to predict storms and protect residents, said Dennis Feltgen, spokesman for the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
"The ultimate benefit, of course, is to those living along the vulnerable coastline," he said.
Florida State's computer model has proved more accurate than most in projecting the number of storms each season -- at least, when working backward. This year, it predicts six to 10 named storms, including three to five hurricanes, in the Atlantic and Caribbean.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasts seven to 11 named storms, including three to six hurricanes. Colorado State University forecasters William Gray and Phil Klotzbach predict 10 named storms, including four hurricanes.
With the Atlantic hurricane season approaching its busiest stretch, from mid-August through October, the first named storm has yet to form.
In re-forecasting the hurricane seasons from 1986 to 2005, Florida State scientist Tim LaRow found that the model outperformed most others. He said he didn't know why but that it relied heavily on forecast and observed sea surface temperatures.
"Sea surface temperatures are known to have a strong influence on hurricane activity in the Atlantic," said LaRow, who hopes the model eventually will help the NOAA improve its seasonal outlook.
Meantime, the University of Miami received a $15-million federal grant to help build a research complex that is scheduled to open in fall 2012. With a large tank and fans, the lab will simulate how hurricane winds rip into buildings.
