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+a 1 • 4& throughout the county. The increased activity this year is attributed to numerous atmospheric and sea surface conditions throughout the Western liernisphere. Contfibuting this year was the lark of shearing winds, LaNina phenomenon in the Pacific ticcan. warm water, high pressure in the Atlantic, and the lack of hurricane activity in somc areas during 1998. All of these conditions created an excellent environment for hurricane activity Alis is evident with lite high number of major hurricanes (5) this year This year our office continued to provide updates throughout the season on TO Channel 13 and falcon Channel 35. 'Me Tropical Update program produced by Mr. Craig Jerome, provided residents with tropical information every Monday $ Thursday. Anytime it system appeared to be a threat to Indian River County, daily programming was completed every evening During Hurricane Floyd, our office provided hourly updates throughout the hurricane. I)uhng Hurricane irate, we provided updates three times a day for three days .this allowed our residents precise, timely and informative tropical cyclone forecasting and protective action recommendations. lbs program was well received by the tc%idcnts and will coritinuc during future hurricane seasons Our office continues to use the most slate of the art technology for monitoring and forecasting hurricanes. Satellite rrnagery and NEXRAU radar have been used to successfully monitor systems. Some of die new procedures we used this year included direct intcrrtct access to the. National Hunicane Center products, direct contact with Ffurricane Hunter aircraft and utilization of hurricane forecast models. The Dcpartmcnt continues to utilize a wcb page (www.irces.com) which includes all hurricane information. preparedness infornintion atnd access to satellite and radar pwtutes. indian Risri Count) Lontinuc+ to lic very capable of monitoring, and forecasting all tropical and day to day weather. i remind you that some of the statistical information will chamgc as updated damage assessments and recovery reports become available. However, this report provides a good overview of the destruction experienced during this busy season. As you peruse this report, keep in mind that [lie increase in tropical activity is forec:-q°!'. to continue over the next few years. The La Nina phenomenon which developed this year (just tire opposite of 1.1 Nino) will provide a better hurricane environment for 2000. Anomalies provided by NASA, NOAA and lite [united States Navy already indicate a strong La Nina developitir, in the mid -Pacific. With this in tumid, rcinembei oui area remains vulnerable to any type of tropical storni or hurricane. Hurricane Floyd had the po[ential to be the wnrst natural disaster in Florida's history. We were spared this year but, 2000 will be another challenging year. The Division of Emergency Management continues to strive for adequate { preparedness in Indian River bounty should we be threatened next year.