2009 Hurricane Forecast To Be Released Today

Forecasters to make predictions about 2009 hurricane season

Top federal weather forecasters on Thursday will be announcing their eagerly anticipated predictions for this year's Atlantic hurricane season -- a season likely to be as active as last year.

Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and others will make their forecast public at a news conference to be held at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in northern Virginia.

On hand will be Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco and Bill Read, NOAA's National Hurricane Center director, along with a host of other federal officials.

Government forecasters were right on the mark with their 2008 predictions -- a very active hurricane season. The numbers: 16 named storms, eight hurricanes, five of them major.

Scientists had projected that the 2008 season would bring 12 to 16 named storms that would grow into six to nine hurricanes, two to five of which would be Category 3 or stronger.

Gerry Bell, NOAA's lead seasonal Atlantic hurricane forecaster, has said the gradual warming of the Atlantic Ocean, combined with an active tropical era of storms that began in 1995, will likely mean busy hurricane seasons in the future.

Florida was spared the worst of last year's hurricane season. Only Tropical Storm Fay struck the region hard.

That was not the case for our Caribbean neighbors. Cuba and Haiti got pounded by a succession of major hurricanes and storms, resulting in heavy damage and lost lives.

Man possibly involved in financial scheme with Hispanic immigrants

A 49-year-old Galena Park man who was reported missing earlier this week was found dead in the trunk of his car in a Pasadena apartment complex parking lot Saturday morning, authorities said.
Officers discovered the body of Salvador Rojas in the trunk of his silver 2000 Volkswagen Jetta shortly before 11 a.m . in the 4300 block of Shaver after a resident in the apartment complex reported a foul smell coming from the car, said Assistant Pasadena Police Chief Bud Corbett, adding that Rojas' hands were bound together at the wrists.
While questioning residents at the apartment complex, detectives learned that Rojas' car may have been seen in the parking lot on Wednesday night, which is the last time anyone heard from the man, Corbett said.

Decomposition of the body made it difficult to determine any injuries. An exact cause of death will be determined by the Harris County Medical Examiner's Office, Corbett said.
Rojas, who owns a small boot business at a southeast Houston flea market, was last heard from about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday when he called friends to say he had a flat tire and was running late to meet them, said FBI spokeswoman Pat Villafranca.
By midnight, Rojas had not returned to his home in the 12300 block of Kayla. His wife became worried and began calling his cell phone, but got no answer.

When the call was returned, Rojas' wife told investigators she heard strangers' voices on the line.
``She said 'Who are you? Where is my husband?' And they didn't say a word,'' Villafranca said. ``They just hung up.''
When the woman tried to call back, the phone had been turned off. Rojas wife immediately called Galena Park police, who then later requested the assistance of the FBI, Villafranca said.
During the investigation, Pasadena police detectives learned that Rojas was allegedly involved in a financial scheme loaning money to Hispanic immigrants for outrageous fees and interests, making it difficult for people to ever repay the loan, Corbett said.

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