Staff ReportTROPICS — The remnants of Tropical Storm Fred are just a disorganized low now. Other than a weak area of thunderstorms off the Cape Verde Islands, the North Atlanic is clear.Some knocking on wood is in order in response to this news, as mid-September is traditionally the height of Hurricane Season. So far, we’ve had five named Tropical Storms — Ana, Claudette, Danny, Erika and Fred — and one major Hurricane in Bill, which reached maximum sustained winds of 135 mph and kept forecasters watching for a northerly turn for nearly a week in August.Twenty years ago, monster storm Hurricane Hugo was gaining strength. Hugo took aim at the United States and made landfall in South Carolina on Sept. 22, 1989.Click on infared satellite image of Hugo to enlarge.This “down time” is a good chance for local residents to review their hurricane plans and supply kits to make sure they are ready in the event a storm pops up and protective actions are recommended for our area.The next Tropical Update by former Indian River County Emergency Operations Coordinator Nathan McCollum will appear if and when another system develops in the North Atlantic.
