Hurricane Meteorologist Updates ’09 Season, Explains new ‘Wind Scale’

The Woodlands, Texas – Newsmaker hurricanes like Katrina, Rita, Humberto, Gustav and Ike, and their smaller brother, Tropical Storm Edouard, have something important in common. All of them either posed a threat to or struck the Upper Texas Gulf Coast during the two months of August or September.

With the 2009 season now entering that critical period, and memories of Hurricane Ike still fresh on the minds of Southeast Texans, Entergy Texas, Inc., presented a seminar Tuesday, Aug. 18 for media and key emergency management personnel within the area it serves north of Houston.

In addition to demonstrating Entergy’s new, comprehensive Web site to provide customers with information in the event of a major storm or other “black” event, the seminar also featured a presentation from Chris Hebert, lead hurricane meteorologist for ImpactWeather. ImpactWeather is a Houston-based weather forecasting company that provides detailed forecasting services on a contract basis for Entergy Corporation and other businesses and groups.

Hebert discussed ImpactWeather’s Hurricane Severity index that takes into consideration both the intensity and size of a tropical storm or hurricane, allowing for a better estimate of the total destructive power of the storm.

Hebert also presented ImpactWeather’s forecast for this year, explaining the quiet start to the season and predicting 10 named storms, and four hurricanes, two of which are predicted to become major hurricanes. ImpactWeather also expects two to three names storms to affect the Gulf of Mexico.

If any of those storms affect the Entergy Texas service area, the company’s customers will have Web-based access to comprehensive information about power outages and the company’s restoration efforts.

A new storm center Web site, entergystormcenter.com, will provide access to a wide variety of information directed at both the company’s customers and media outlets. Customers will be able to access outage information as well as news about the company’s restoration efforts. Tips and links to relevant Entergy information sites will be available. Links will also provide information specifically for media.

“Preparing for hurricane season is an ongoing process for Entergy,” said Terry Allemand, regional customer service manager for Entergy Texas. “That includes working to improve our communications with customers, which we recognize are almost as important as the actual restoration work. Our employees embrace a preparedness mindset and know that being storm ready is the key to a safe and quick response for our customers.”

Entergy Texas, Inc. provides electricity to nearly 400,000 customers in 27 counties. It is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation. Entergy Corp. is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

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