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Tropical Storm Alpha Forms in Caribbean
Tropical Storm Alpha Forms in Caribbean, Sets Record for Most Named Storms in Hurricane Season
A portion of the status board at the National Hurricane Center in Miami shows some of the names of tropical cyclones for the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season Saturday, Oct. 22, 2005. Tropical Storm Alpha formed Saturday in the Caribbean, setting the record for the most named storms in an Atlantic hurricane season and marking the first time forecasters had to turn to the Greek alphabet for names. (AP Photo/Andy Newman)
By RON WORD Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press
MIAMI Oct 22, 2005  Tropical Storm Alpha formed Saturday in the Caribbean, setting the record for the most named storms in an Atlantic hurricane season and marking the first time forecasters had to turn to the Greek alphabet for names.
The previous record of 21 named storms had stood since 1933. Alpha was the 22nd to reach tropical storm strength this year, and the season doesn't end until Nov. 30.
At 8 p.m. EDT, Alpha had sustained winds of about 40 mph 1 mph over the threshold for a tropical storm.
It was centered about 70 miles south of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, and moving northwest at about 15 mph, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
A tropical storm warning was in place for Haiti and parts of the Dominican Republic, and a tropical storm watch was in effect for the Turks and Caicos islands and the southeastern Bahamas.
Since 1995, the Atlantic has been in a period of higher hurricane activity, a cycle expected to last at least another 10 years.
Scientists say the cause of the increase is a rise in ocean temperatures and a decrease in the amount of disruptive vertical wind shear that rips hurricanes apart.
The busy seasons are part of a natural cycle that can last for at least 20 years, and sometimes 40 to 50, forecasters at the hurricane center say. The current conditions, they say, are similar to those in the 1950s and 60s.
The U.S. Gulf Coast has been battered this year by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Dennis and Wilma will be next. It had sustained winds of about 100 mph as it moved over the Yucatan Peninsula on Saturday and was expected to turn northeast, pushed by a strong wind current, and approach southern Florida on Monday. A hurricane watch was in effect for the state's entire southern peninsula.
Wilma was the last on the list of 21 storm names for 2005; the letters q, u, x, y and z are skipped. The Greek alphabet provides a continuation of that list but had never been used in six decades of regularly naming Atlantic storms.
Image and projected storm track by .    
Tropical Storm Alpha formed Saturday in the Caribbean to break the record for most tropical storms in an  ever, making it the 22nd storm of the year. It is also the first storm to be named with a letter of the Greek alphabet. Wilma exhausted the English alphabetic list as the 21st named storm; the letters Q, U, X, Y and Z are skipped when naming  storms.

Currently, the storm has sustained winds of 40mph, which is only 1mph over the threshold for a tropical storm. It is centered about 70 miles south of , Dominican Republic. A tropical storm warning has been issued for Haiti and portions of the Dominican Republic.

According to scientists, since 1995 an increase in hurricane activity has been due to a rise in ocean temperatures and decrease of wind shear that rip apart hurricanes.

The prior record has stood since the . However the season does not end till November 30, leaving room for more storms to form and shatter the record. Scientists have noted that the number of very strong hurricanes is likely to increase further in future years as the effects of global warming increase. Researcher Dr Peter Webster stated that "What I think we can say is that the increase in (hurricane) intensity is probably accounted for by the increase in sea-surface temperature, and I think probably the sea-surface temperature increase is a manifestation of global warming."