As hurricane season looms, forecasters, scientists and residents along the Gulf Coast worry that a major storm could make the oil spill worse.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says a hurricane, or a succession of them, may bring oil up from the depths of the Gulf of Mexico and then push it ashore. Forecasters say a season with multiple storms could send oil farther inland and spread it as far as Cape Hatteras, N.C.

"To think a storm surge could resuscitate a huge sum of oil (from the deep) and deposit it on land is truly catastrophic," says Joe Jaworski, mayor of Galveston, Texas, a city hit by Hurricane Ike in 2008.

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Filed under: * Economics, Politics • Energy, Natural Resources • * General Interest • Weather

1. francis wrote: “The sky is falling.” May 20, 8:48 am | [comment link]

2. Sidney wrote: It’s been known for centuries that oil on water has a calming effect on waves.  I wonder what effect 100 million gallons of oil in the Gulf would have on the waves from a hurricane. May 20, 5:20 pm | [comment link]

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