Cruise ships make itinerary changes due to tropical storm

By Gay Nagle Myers

Tropical Storm Chantal has forced three Carnival ships to make itinerary changes as the storm wends its way through the Caribbean.

The Carnival Freedom will skip a call in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, on Thursday and substitute Cozumel instead.

The Carnival Liberty skipped St. Thomas on Tuesday and called in San Juan, is in Grand Turk on Wednesday and will add a stop in Nassau on Friday.

The Carnival Victory skipped a day at sea on Tuesday and called at Nassau, will be in Grand Turk on Thursday and at Half Moon Cay, Bahamas.

Chantal was south of Haiti on Wednesday and is expected to dump heavy rains on Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Cuba on Thursday before heading toward the Bahamas and Florida on the weekend.

NOAA predicts active hurricane season

By Gay Nagle Myers

Get ready for another active hurricane season with potentially close to 12 hurricanes, half of them major storms, forecasts the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The NOAA expects 13 to 20 named storms, seven to 11 of them reaching hurricane status (winds of at least 74 mph).

Three to six will become major hurricanes of Category 3 strength or higher (wind speeds of at least 111 mph).

The six-month hurricane season, which officially begins June 1, could start a bit earlier, according to Kathryn Sullivan, acting NOAA administrator.

Although there were a large number of named storms in 2012, Hurricane Sandy last October is the one for the history books. The name has been retired.

Five of the past seven seasons have been more active than normal. The season of 2005 set a record with 28 named storms.

This year’s names: Andrea, Barry, Chantal, Dorian, Erin, Fernand, Gabrielle, Humberto, Ingrid, Jerry, Karen, Lorenzo, Melissa, Nestor, Olga, Pablo, Rebekah, Sebastien, Tanya, Van and Wendy.