Page 21 - Southern Exposure - April '21

Southern Exposure, Page 21

Section B

NorTherN NoTes

Hurricane Season May Start Earlier In The Future

By Katie Roundtree, Finance Director, Northern Palm Beach County Improvement District

In February, it was announced Even though there is discussion about moving the
that a committee within hurricane season start date to May 15, the ending date of
NOAA (National Oceanic and Nov. 30 has not changed. The height of hurricane season
Atmospheric Administration) is is August through mid-October, later in the season.
determining whether hurricane Typically, August has more than three times more storms
season should begin on May than July or double the amount of June and July combined.
15 rather than June 1, as is As the oceans heat up, activity increases. Storms form
the current internationally more frequently and are much more intense than storms
recognized start date. This is earlier in the season.
in response to weather patterns So, what does this mean to those of us in South Florida?
over the past decade and tropical Not much. Hurricanes will not suddenly decide to form
activity starting earlier than June Hurricane Wilma – NOAA earlier because of a shift in dates. This doesn’t give a green
1 over the past six consecutive years. Since 2000, 11 storms have light to the atmosphere to stir up storms prior to June 1.
been named prior to the official start of the season. It is a trend Warmer waters, potentially from climate change, have It simply means that we need to be more vigilant, prepare
that they believe will continue into the future. caused tropical storms to develop earlier than June 1 on early and pay attention to weather trends and forecasts a
In response, NOAA may begin issuing daily tropical a more consistent basis. Better modeling technology and bit sooner in the year than in the past. Hurricane season is
weather forecasts as early as May 15. As to moving the satellites have led to the ability to track and name storms a long stretch, but it’s the price we pay to live in paradise.
start date of the official hurricane season to May 15, in their more effectively than in the past. Storms that may have NPDES Tip: Hurricane season begins officially on
annual hurricane plan, the World Meteorological Organization been missed before can now be monitored and forecasted June 1. Make sure your yards and trees are trimmed early
announced the National Hurricane Center “will determine a more accurately. There have been calls for years to revise to avoid flying debris during a storm. Dispose of your
quantitative threshold for adding or removing dates from the the official start date of the Atlantic hurricane season to trimmings and clippings properly. Do not put them into
official Atlantic Hurricane Season,” and “will then examine May 15, matching the first day of hurricane season in the storm drains or lakes!
the need for … potentially moving the beginning of hurricane eastern Pacific. June 1 is an arbitrarily chosen date; some
season to May 15.” think it’s time to change the definition to reflect reality.

Travel

Kangaroo Island: A Place Like No Other

By Don Kiselewski, MCC, D.S., Palm Beach Gardens Travel Leaders
As soon as you step off As with most of Australia, the original inhabitants believed that the island was abandoned by the Aboriginal
the ferry from the mainland of Kangaroo Island were Aborigines. However, their people 11,000 years before.
of Australia, you know that occupation of the island is somewhat of a mystery. When Perhaps the best reason for the absence of Aboriginals
you’re in a special place. Europeans first discovered the island, it was clear of any
Kangaroo Island is located Aborigines. Based upon evidence and later studies, it is Travel on page 22
in the South Indian Ocean,
some 12 miles southwest of
Cape Jervis on the Fleurieu
Peninsula of South Australia.
Around 9,000 years ago, the
island was cut and separated
from the peninsula. What
remained is an island that is 100 miles long (east to west)
and approximately 30 miles wide. It boasts a population of
almost 5,000 (Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics).
Today, the island is so tight-knit that when the state of
Southern Australia sends more state patrol officers to the
island on the ferry, the word that the “law is coming” spreads
over the entire island before the ferry docks at Penneshaw.
Needless to say, very few locals are caught by the state
troopers.
Kingscote is the largest town on the island, where about
one-third of the island residents live. The others are spread
in small hamlets throughout the island. Parndana, a small
town in the center of the island, was started as the hub of
the settlement program that began at the end of WWII.
Servicemen returning from the war were given a chance
to obtain land by homesteading. This became the heart of
today’s agricultural economy on the island.