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Reports of Hurricane Fred's death were greatly exaggerated

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By NEIL JOHNSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 16, 2009

TAMPA - Remember Fred?

A week ago, Hurricane Fred was a Category 3 bully, muscling its way across the Atlantic Ocean but a threat to only fish. Its winds peaked on Sept. 9 at 120 mph.

Three days later, the National Hurricane Center declared Fred dead, its once impressive winds whittled away by shear and dry air. Former Hurricane Fred became a disorganized mass of thunderstorms.

But the declaration of death may have been a tad premature.

Though the hurricane center gives Fred a less than 30 percent chance of reforming into a tropical storm by Friday, forecasters are watching what 's left of the storm as it heads roughly west at about 15 mph.

Computer models that forecast intensity, however, are fairly unified in reviving the remains of Fred back into hurricane before the weekend.

Fred's remains appear headed toward an area where things are less hostile for storms. Whatever form it is in, Fred will be heading over warmer water the next few days. And if upper-level winds slacken, it could help it reform.

Fred is about 700 miles from the Leeward Islands.

The hurricane center is also watching a tropical wave about 400 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands. Forecasters give it a low chance of developing into a storm or tropical depression by Friday.

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