NEPAC TROPICAL SYNOPSYS - 15-JAN-08

A MASSIVE OMEGA BLOCK, AND, A HIATUS IN SEED AREA ACTIVITY NEAR THE PHILIPPINES AND NEAR HAWAII, ARE RESULTING IN A RELATIVE QUIET PERIOD IN TERMS OF TROPICAL CYCLONE ACTIVITY IN NEPAC. THAT HAVING BEEN WRITTEN ... AT THIS MIDPOINT OF JAN-08, WE FIND AN UNPRECEDENTED SCENARIO OF HAVING ALREADY REACHED 4 NAMED STORMS. WHILE IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE OVERALL SEASON COULD STILL PROCEED AT A MUCH SLOWER PACE, NONETHELESS, GIVEN THE EARLY SURGE OF TC ACTIVITY, A VERY LONG AND ACTIVE SEASON, MOST LIKELY AN ALL TIME RECORD BREAKING SEASON (BIGGEST SEASON IN AT LEAST A MILLION YEARS?) SEEMS TO BE MORE LIKELY. ONCE THE OMEGA BLOCK BREAKS UP, AND THE SEED AREAS RETURN TO MORE FAVORABLE CONDITIONS FOR FORMATION, WE ANTICIPATE (AND GLEEFULLY LOOK FORWARD TO) MORE NAMED STORMS TO ADD TO THE COUNT. EOT. FORECASTER - HAY-MAN.