Washington-Additional hurricane forecasts came out last week, and although the numbers differed, none of them were good news for the storm season. The National Weather Service’s forecast was the most ominous. It said there could be between 14 and 23 named storms, and eight to 14 hurricanes. Of the 14, somewhere between three and seven would be major – category III or stronger. A category III storm’s lowest sustained winds are 111 mph. The weather service does not issue predictions on storms that might make landfall. Earlier, Accuweather estimated there would be between 16 and 18 named storms, with seven possibly making landfall, including five hurricanes (GM May 31, p. 13). The phosphate and sulfur industries suffered losses due to storms and hurricanes during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. A more intense storm season is predicted because of the end of the El Niño effect and warmer than normal water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic. Hurricane season began June 1 and will run through the end of November.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain