U.S. weather forecasters herald the end of La Nina

Windstorm

La Nina dissipates on schedule this year and is not expected to return The U.S. Climate Prediction Center (CPC) has announced that the La Nina weather phenomenon has dissipated on schedule this year, coming to an end in April. The weather pattern has been blamed for creating widespread drought in Texas and troublesome natural disaster in other parts of the U.S. These events have caused serious problems for the country’s insurance industry, which has struggled to overcome the problems created by natural catastrophes from the past two years. The CPC…

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Climate Prediction Center heralds the return of El Nino this year

Insurance industry on El Nino watch. The U.S. Climate Prediction Center (CPC), a government agency that provides weather information to the insurance industry and others, has raised concerns that El Nino may make a strong return to the Northern Hemisphere later this year. The weather phenomenon is notorious for the number of natural disasters it spawns throughout the Northern Hemisphere. El Nino brings an increase in rainfall and changes to temperature and wind patterns in some parts of the world. The CPC notes that El Nino could have a disastrous…

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NOAA updates hurricane season forecast, still calls for an active season

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has updated their forecast of this year’s hurricane season. The original outlook was issued in May in which the agency noted that the current season would be more active than usual. Several major storms have already formed in the Atlantic Ocean, with some making landfall in Florida and Texas. None have cause any major damage, thus far, but that may change during this month as NOAA predicts as many as five category 3 hurricanes to form offshore. According to Gerry Bell, Ph.D., the…

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Mexico takes out disaster insurance for over $400 million

On Friday, June 10, 2011, Mexico announced that it had purchased various forms of disaster insurance for more than $400, in order to gain some protection in the areas that face the greatest risk of natural disasters such as hurricanes. According to the Mexican finance ministry, the $404 million (4.8 billion pesos) of disaster insurance was purchased to “protect public infrastructure and homes in vulnerable areas.”  This decision came after last year where there were a staggering 19 major storms that struck Central America, leaving behind damage worth several hundreds…

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