万事俱备 只欠东风

In late June, Hurricane Alex ushered in what some scientists say might be a busy 2010 Atlantic hurricane season. EarthSky spoke with research climatologist and oceanographer Bill Patzert of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory about Hurricane Alex.

6月末，飓风“亚历克斯”的肆虐标志着今年大西洋飓风季的到来，一些科学家认为今年的飓风季或将相当活跃。今天记者采访了美国宇航局喷气推进实验室气候学家与海洋学家比尔·帕泽特，他谈到了飓风“亚历克斯”。

Bill Patzert: This was a very unusual hurricane. It came very early. It’s very rare to get a hurricane in June. It strengthened very rapidly. By the time it came ashore it was a category 2.

比尔·帕泽特：此次飓风非比寻常。它来得非常早，很少有飓风会在6月出现。不仅如此，其强度也在迅速增大，等它登陆海岸时已经升级为第二类飓风。

Hurricane Alex is the strongest June hurricane since Alma in 1966, forty-four years ago, said Patzert. Many believe this 2010 hurricane season might be an active one.

帕泽特表示，飓风亚历克斯是1966年来最强的6月飓风，美国最早记录的飓风是44年前的“阿尔玛”。许多人认为2010年的飓风季将非常活跃。

Bill Patzert: Well, all the elements are in place. The Caribbean, the Gulf, the tropical Atlantic are all very, very warm. And we switched out of El Nino into what we call a La Nina situation, which keeps the jet stream really out of the path of these westward-moving hurricanes. And so they tend to get strong and last long during a La Nina situation.

比尔·帕泽特：“万事俱备，只欠东风”，飓风形成的所有条件都具备了。加勒比海、墨西哥湾、热带大西洋等海域气温都很高。我们已从厄尔尼诺现象转而进入拉尼娜。这些飓风便可顺利西进，没有什么气流能阻挡它们。拉尼娜现象使飓风容易增强并持续长久。

We asked Dr. Patzert what he thought is the most important thing people should know about the 2010 hurricane season.

2010年飓风季来袭之际，人们最需要注意些什么呢？记者就此问题采访了帕泽特博士。

Bill Patzert: Preparation is the thing that you have to consider most, and first. Know your evacuation routes, know exactly what you’re gonna do, and don’t wait till the last minute.

比尔·帕泽特：未雨绸缪是第一要务。要弄清楚疏散路线，对要做的事情了然在胸，决不能等到最后关头才采取行动。