Major Hurricane

Hurricane Eugene, which is moving across the open Pacific off the coast of Baja California, has reached "major hurricane" status, according to an advisory issued late Tuesday by the National Weather Service. The storm is producing sustained winds of 115 mph but remains far from land and has generated no warnings or watches for coastal areas. Weather officials report that the hurricane will "remain no threat to land" over the next couple of days. It is considered to be a Category 3 hurricane, which is capable of causing widespread damage.

TAMPA, Fla. - As thousands of Republicans, press and protesters hunker down for at least a glancing blow from Tropical Storm Isaac, it's not a bad time to ask: What were Republican National Convention organizers thinking? Why would they put their presidential nominating party in a low-lying convention center right during hurricane season? Holly Hughes, a Republican National Committee member, told National Journal online two years ago that the group talked to weather experts before picking Tampa as the convention's host city.

William Gray, an atmospheric scientist at Colorado State University, predicted a busier-than-average season this year, with 12 named storms, seven of which will develop into hurricanes, three of them major. Typically during the June-through-October hurricane season, there are about 10 named storms, with six hurricanes, two of them major. A major hurricane has sustained winds of at least 111 mph. Gray also told the 2002 National Hurricane Conference in Orlando, Fla.

Hurricane Irene grew into a Category 2 storm that is forecast to strengthen as it moves toward the Bahamas and possibly the Carolinas and the Northeast U.S. Irene's maximum sustained winds remained at 100 miles per hour, up from 80 mph yesterday. It may become a major hurricane later today, according to an advisory. The storm's winds may increase to 111 mph, according to a statement yesterday. "I don't see any roadblocks to intensification over the next four or five days," said Jeff Masters, co-founder of Weather Underground Inc. in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Hurricane Bertha became a "major" hurricane in the open Atlantic, with sustained winds near 120 miles per hour. The second named storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season was heading west-northwest in the direction of Bermuda when it became a Category 3 storm, the National Hurricane Center said. It is unlikely Bertha will steer south into the Caribbean or the Gulf of Mexico, but a forecaster said this should be a wake-up call for Floridians to prepare for storm season.

Hurricane Paloma pounded the British Caribbean territory of the Cayman Islands after strengthening into a dangerously powerful storm, posing a serious threat to storm-battered Cuba. Businesses, schools and offices closed down in the Caymans, a major financial center, while residents shuttered homes and visitors tried to flee as the late-season storm hurtled northward. Paloma gathered power menacingly fast as it neared Grand Cayman Island and it became a major hurricane -- Category 3 on the five-step scale of storm intensity -- with top sustained winds of 115 mph, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Hurricane Bonnie struck the Gulf Coast with 85 m.p.h. winds Thursday, killing two people and bringing heavy rain that generated tornadoes, destroyed homes and knocked out power to thousands. But the first hurricane of the season weakened not long after it came ashore near the Texas-Louisiana border. The hurricane was downgraded to a tropical storm later in the day and hurricane warnings that had been posted for a 270-mile strip of coast stretching into Louisiana were discontinued.

Hurricane Elena mushroomed into a potential killer in the Gulf of Mexico today and poised its 100-m.p.h. winds and 12-foot tides for a Labor Day weekend assault on the beach resorts of Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. Florida Gov. Bob Graham, saying he feared "the needless loss of thousands of lives," ordered a door-to-door evacuation of seven Florida counties seen as the most likely target of Elena, a 300-mile-wide storm marching slowly north toward an expected landfall early Saturday.

Hurricane Irene grew into a Category 2 storm that is forecast to strengthen as it moves toward the Bahamas and possibly the Carolinas and the Northeast U.S. Irene's maximum sustained winds remained at 100 miles per hour, up from 80 mph yesterday. It may become a major hurricane later today, according to an advisory. The storm's winds may increase to 111 mph, according to a statement yesterday. "I don't see any roadblocks to intensification over the next four or five days," said Jeff Masters, co-founder of Weather Underground Inc. in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Bonnie, the season's first hurricane, battered the Gulf Coast today with rain and wind up to 85 m.p.h., killing at least two people, knocking out power and flooding low-lying areas before losing its punch over land. Bonnie was downgraded to a tropical storm at mid-morning after about 20,000 beachfront residents and offshore oil workers along the Gulf Coast fled inland.

Hurricane Eugene, which is moving across the open Pacific off the coast of Baja California, has reached "major hurricane" status, according to an advisory issued late Tuesday by the National Weather Service. The storm is producing sustained winds of 115 mph but remains far from land and has generated no warnings or watches for coastal areas. Weather officials report that the hurricane will "remain no threat to land" over the next couple of days. It is considered to be a Category 3 hurricane, which is capable of causing widespread damage.

Powerful Hurricane Paloma slammed into southern Cuba as authorities scrambled to move hundreds of thousands of people to safer ground. It made landfall near Santa Cruz del Sur as an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm, but weakened into a Category 2 with 110-mph winds and torrential rains, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

Hurricane Paloma pounded the British Caribbean territory of the Cayman Islands after strengthening into a dangerously powerful storm, posing a serious threat to storm-battered Cuba. Businesses, schools and offices closed down in the Caymans, a major financial center, while residents shuttered homes and visitors tried to flee as the late-season storm hurtled northward. Paloma gathered power menacingly fast as it neared Grand Cayman Island and it became a major hurricane -- Category 3 on the five-step scale of storm intensity -- with top sustained winds of 115 mph, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

A weakened Hurricane Ike toppled dozens of dilapidated buildings in Havana on Tuesday as the storm that killed scores in a weeklong blast through the Caribbean moved into the Gulf of Mexico on a course for Texas. Forecasters with the National Hurricane Center here projected that the storm, which weakened to a Category 1 hurricane with 75-mph winds as it exited Cuba during the afternoon, would track westward to strike near the Texas-Mexico border by the weekend, bypassing most of the U.S. oil industry's drilling operations in the gulf.

Hurricane Bertha became a "major" hurricane in the open Atlantic, with sustained winds near 120 miles per hour. The second named storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season was heading west-northwest in the direction of Bermuda when it became a Category 3 storm, the National Hurricane Center said. It is unlikely Bertha will steer south into the Caribbean or the Gulf of Mexico, but a forecaster said this should be a wake-up call for Floridians to prepare for storm season.

Meteorologists examining the conditions that spawned hurricanes Rita and Katrina say there is a strong likelihood that another intense hurricane will occur in October. And while late-season storms tend to track eastward toward Florida or don't make landfall at all, the experts don't rule out the possibility of another major storm targeting the battered Gulf Coast.

A weakened Hurricane Ike toppled dozens of dilapidated buildings in Havana on Tuesday as the storm that killed scores in a weeklong blast through the Caribbean moved into the Gulf of Mexico on a course for Texas. Forecasters with the National Hurricane Center here projected that the storm, which weakened to a Category 1 hurricane with 75-mph winds as it exited Cuba during the afternoon, would track westward to strike near the Texas-Mexico border by the weekend, bypassing most of the U.S. oil industry's drilling operations in the gulf.

Hurricane Elena mushroomed into a potential killer Friday, prompting the evacuation of 100,000 people from the Florida Panhandle to Louisiana's bayous. The hurricane, with 100 m.p.h. winds and 12-foot tides, poised for a Labor Day weekend assault on the beach resorts of Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. Florida Gov.

If a major hurricane hits Florida, most of the state's counties won't have enough shelter space in wind-resistant public buildings to handle the number of people who seek it, a study says. Sixty of the state's 67 counties have shortages of space in shelters built to withstand Category 4 and 5 hurricanes, which have winds of more than 130 mph, according to a study by the state's Division of Emergency Management.

William Gray, an atmospheric scientist at Colorado State University, predicted a busier-than-average season this year, with 12 named storms, seven of which will develop into hurricanes, three of them major. Typically during the June-through-October hurricane season, there are about 10 named storms, with six hurricanes, two of them major. A major hurricane has sustained winds of at least 111 mph. Gray also told the 2002 National Hurricane Conference in Orlando, Fla.