Storm Harvey forms in Atlantic, warning for Bermuda

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Tropical Storm Harvey, the eighth
named storm of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, formed
Wednesday west-southwest of Bermuda in what was forecast to
become a near-record hurricane season, according to government
forecasters.

Harvey, packing winds near 40 mph, should remain well north
and east of U.S. offshore oil and natural gas production
facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.

Energy traders have been keeping watch on the lively
tropical activity this season as hurricanes and powerful storms
pose a threat to offshore oil and gas operations concentrated
in the Gulf, home to a quarter of U.S. domestic production.

As of 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT), Harvey was about 215 miles
west-southwest of Bermuda, moving north-northeast near 10 miles
per hour.

While Harvey was currently rated as a tropical storm,
meaning winds were less than the 74 mph strength needed to
become a hurricane, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said
it could strengthen further over the next 24 hours.

A tropical storm warning was in effect for Bermuda.

This year’s hurricane season could see as many as 21
tropical storms and 11 hurricanes that could menace the U.S.
Atlantic and Gulf coasts, government forecasters said Tuesday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s
updated forecast predicted this season could tie for the record
number of tropical storms. The most active season was 21 storms
in 1933, according to NOAA.

NOAA officials could not predict how many of the 2005
storms would hit the U.S. coast, or where and how significant
damage would be. But during an especially active season such as
this one, an average of two to three hurricanes can be expected
to strike the United States.

The Atlantic hurricane season, which ends on Nov. 30,
typically peaks between Aug. 1 and late October.

So far this year, tropical storms and hurricanes have
halted more than 6.14 million barrels of U.S. crude oil
production from the Gulf of Mexico.

Damage from last year’s Hurricane Ivan cut about 45 million
barrels of crude output over six months after that storm
toppled platforms and damaged undersea pipelines.

The 2004 hurricane season was one of the most devastating
recorded. The Atlantic Ocean churned out 15 tropical storms,
nine of which turned into hurricanes, and caused billions of
dollars in damage to the Caribbean and the United States.