Classic Rant #571 (August 31, 2011): Katia?

Back to hurricane talk ...

I hate to tell you this, but another one may be on its way to our shores.

Tropical Storm Katia is gaining strength as it moves across the Atlantic, and weather forecasters say that it could become a hurricane later today.

Katia has sustained winds near 65 mph with additional strengthening expected.

The storm's forecast track shows it could become a major hurricane over the weekend.

Right now, Katia is centered about 985 miles west of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands and is moving west-northwest near 21 mph.

And if you were wondering, the storm's name replaces Katrina in the rotating storm roster because of the catastrophic damage from the 2005 hurricane that devastated New Orleans.

They certainly don't want to use that name again--ever.

But Katia? What kind of name is that? I never heard of the name before.

The name, pronounced KAH-tyah, evidently it is a variant of Katya, but my very brief research shows that some claim it is of Russian origin, others claim it is of Spanish origin.

Whatever the case, is this the second such storm that will hit the East Coast this year?

I don't know. Of course, I hope not.

But the other day, while watching the storm coverage on local TV here, one of the meteorologists said that it could happen with this storm. He discounted the storm after Irene, which I think was named Jose, and said that this one, Katia, was one to keep an eye on.

Although Irene was nothing more than a whimper in my neck of the woods, I know for others, it was a nightmare.

So who needs another hurricane?

(And by the way, my sister's name is Gail. I know that's not Gale, as in strong wind, but it's close enough.)