The fifth tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, Ernesto, could become a dangerously powerful hurricane in the oil-producing Gulf of Mexico next week, US forecasters said today.
As with any storm, the US National Hurricane centre said the forecast for Ernesto was highly uncertain. But very warm waters in its path as it approached the Gulf, where a quarter of US crude oil and natural gas production is located, could lead to significant strengthening around the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the Miami-based center said.
"This could result in Ernesto becoming a powerful hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico," hurricane center forecaster Lixion Avila said in a bulletin on the storm.
If it does become a hurricane, it will be the first of the six-month hurricane season, which began June 1st. Located around 395 kilometres south-southwest of Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic.
Ernesto's forecast track could take it over Jamaica tomorrow and the western tip of Cuba by Tuesday. By Thursday, it was projected to be swirling in the middle of the Gulf as a possible Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of at least 178 kilometres per hour that are capable of damaging homes.
This hurricane season, while forecast to be busier then active, has been relatively quiet with just five tropical storms and no hurricane to date. By this time last year there had been 11 tropical storms, of which five became hurricanes, including Katrina.
The 2005 season went on to produce a record-breaking 28 storms, of which 15 became hurricanes with winds of at least 119 kilometres per hour.