Hurricane

William M. Gray, 86, emeritus professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University (CSU) and a pioneer of hurricane forecasting, has died. Gray, who headed the Tropical Meteorology Project, issued his first data-driven seasonal forecast at CSU in 1984. Rather than determining a tropical storm’s path or potential landfall, Gray is considered instrumental in using aggregated data to determine atmospheric conditions, water currents and temperatures to predict the number and intensity of storms. He received his bachelor’s degree in geography from George Washington University in 1952 before joining the U.S. Air Force, where he was a weather forecaster, and he earned a master’s degree in meteorology and a doctorate in geophysical sciences from the University of Chicago. Gray joined CSU in 1961 and retired in 2005, but he remained active in weather research. Gray, whose wife died in 2001, is survived by three children. The CSU’s 2016 hurricane forecast, issued earlier this month by Gray’s final graduate student Philip J. Klotzbach, now lead author, calls for an “average” major hurricane season (see Daily GPI,April 15).

William M. Gray, 86, emeritus professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University (CSU) and a pioneer of hurricane forecasting, has died. Gray, who headed the Tropical Meteorology Project, issued his first data-driven seasonal forecast at CSU in 1984. Rather than determining a tropical storm’s path or potential landfall, Gray is considered instrumental in using aggregated data to determine atmospheric conditions, water currents and temperatures to predict the number and intensity of storms. He received his bachelor’s degree in geography from George Washington University in 1952 before joining the U.S. Air Force, where he was a weather forecaster, and he earned a master’s degree in meteorology and a doctorate in geophysical sciences from the University of Chicago. Gray joined CSU in 1961 and retired in 2005, but he remained active in weather research. Gray, whose wife died in 2001, is survived by three children. The CSU’s 2016 hurricane forecast, issued earlier this month by Gray’s final graduate student Philip J. Klotzbach, now lead author, calls for an “average” major hurricane season (see Daily GPI,April 15).

Despite a fading El Nino and the possibility of La Nina conditions in the Pacific Ocean, the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season isn’t likely to produce an unusual number of tropical storms, according to forecasters at Colorado State University (CSU).

Despite a fading El Nino and the possibility of La Nina conditions in the Pacific Ocean, the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season isn’t likely to produce an unusual number of tropical storms, according to forecasters at Colorado State University (CSU).

The probability of a transition from a Pacific El Nino to a La Nina event later this year, which many forecasters believe could pump up tropical storm activity in the Atlantic Basin, could also lead to a hotter-than-normal summer, according to MDA Weather Services.

An area of colder-than-normal ocean water east of Newfoundland could throw a curve ball into the forecast, but AccuWeather forecasters believe the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season could be more active than usual, with a total of 14 named storms, eight of them hurricanes, including four major hurricanes (Category 3 or higher).

The El Nino event that has been helping to dull the worst of the U.S. winter weather won’t dissipate for several more months, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center (CPC), potentially bad news for anyone hoping for higher natural gas prices.

Weekend and Monday physical natural gas plunged in Friday’s trading as almost nonexistent incremental demand prompted little interest in making three-day deals.

Amongst market bulls there wasn’t a dry eye in the house as weekly trading drew to a close Oct. 2. With the exception of a couple of New York market points, all actively traded locations followed by NGI endured double-digit losses. The NGI Weekly Spot Gas Average fell 21 cents to $2.20.