Fishing report: awaiting dates for flounder season

We escaped having a named storm before hurricane season began when forecasters at the National Hurricane Center chose not to name the weather system that ruined fishing for much of the Memorial Day weekend. However, Mother Nature isn't one to be trifled with and when the 2023 hurricane season began June 1, she didn't waste much time cooking up a named storm. Tropical Storm Arlene blew up in the Gulf of Mexico officially on Friday, June 2, but was weak and didn't last through the weekend. Even better, it was over open water and never moved onto land. This is but the first of numerous weather systems we will watch and wonder about until the 2023 hurricane season ends November 30.

Everyone should have a source, other than local TV news, for information about tropical weather systems. We have seen firsthand how much damage can be caused by a weak category 1 hurricane/strong tropical storm and that there is need to be prepared. The National Hurricane Center (www.nhc.noaa.gov) is the official U.S. center to track and forecast tropical weather. There are many other sources of information regarding tropical systems and potential tropical systems. I’ll recommend Mike's Weather Page (www.spaghettimodels.com) as a good one to use. Mike is not a meteorologist, but a self-proclaimed weather nerd and his website displays weather information from many sources. Both of these sources also maintain Facebook pages.

Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.