Hurricane Fred Is A Fountain Of ‘Firsts’ In The Atlantic Ocean

By John A. Heatherly

2015 has brought a number of weather oddities with Hurricane Fred being the latest. Is the strong El Nino the cause of all the weirdness? The Washington Post has the scoop…

Hurricane Fred, which formed over the weekend in the far eastern Atlantic, is truly one of a kind. Not only has Fred set the record for easternmost hurricane in the tropical Atlantic Ocean, it prompted the very first hurricane warning for the Cape Verde Islands and has provided the first satellite view of a hurricane in the region since weather satellites were launched into space in the early 1960s.

Hurricane Fred was born from Tropical Depression Six, which formed early Sunday morning just west of the coast of Africa. The system was quickly upgraded to Tropical Storm Fred, remarkably far east in the Atlantic. Then on Sunday night, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center saw enough strength in Fred to make it the second hurricane of the 2015 season, which also made it the easternmost hurricane formation on record in the Atlantic Ocean.

Sort of. A slight qualifier is needed: Fred now holds the record for the easternmost hurricane formation in the tropics. Looking back through the annals, just 11 …read more

Source:: Patriot Outdoor News