The storms in the early hours of Tuesday followed a weather warning issued by the Met Office for parts of south-east England.

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The large number of early storms prompted forecasters to update their estimates of hurricane activity this year, projecting that as many as 21 named storms might develop.

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Thankfully the early storms only knocked the power out and downed some trees near her childhood home, but she was glued to the television for the rest of the day as the threat of tornadoes persisted.

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Studies of space weather aid in the development of early warning systems for solar storms and help to minimize the damage from turbulent solar activity, researchers said.

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The film's chase teams were loosely based upon the fleets of vehicles called Mobile Mesonets in project VORTEX and the early chase forays by the National Severe Storms Laboratory and Oklahoma University.

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However, with very warm water near the U.S. coast for the early and middle part of the season, fewer storms does not necessarily mean less of a challenge.

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"The storms may reach as far as the Atlantic coast by late tonight or early Saturday morning, " the weather service said.

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The first recognisably modern weather maps appeared in the early 19th century, when proto-meteorologists stitched together eyewitness accounts of large storms to construct maps after the event.

ECONOMIST: Weather maps

Katrina weakened slightly to a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds estimated at 145 mph as it made landfall early Monday, but it maintained a storm surge that is only generally found in category 5 storms.

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