June 1st through November 30 is the official Atlantic hurricane season.

Hurricane Jeannie in 2004. (NASA Visable Earth) +Click to enlarge

This year will be much quieter than last year. They are forecasting between 9 to 15 tropical storms. 4 to 8 of which are expected to become hurricanes.

Here is a list of names for the 2012 season:

NAME & PRONUNCIATION
————————————————————-
ALBERTO AL BAIR- TOE
BERYL BER- RIL CHRIS KRIS NADINE NAY DEEN-
DEBBY DEH- BEE
ERNESTO ER NES- TOH
FLORENCE FLOOR- ENCE
GORDON GOR- DUHN
HELENE HEH LEEN-
ISAAC EYE- ZIK
JOYCE JOYSS KIRK KURK
LESLIE LEHZ- LEE
MICHAEL MY- KUHL
OSCAR AHS- KUR
PATTY PAT- EE
RAFAEL RAH FAH ELL-
SANDY SAN- DEE
TONY TOH- NEE
VALERIE VAH- LUR EE
WILLIAM WILL- YUM

The Atlantic storm season has gotten off to a fast start with 2 named storms having hit even before the official season started. Alberto and Berly both came at us in May.
According to the National Weather Service this is the first time since 1908 that two tropical cyclones developed before June 1st.
Tropical storm Berly that came ashore in Jacksonville Beach Florida on May 28 was the strongest pre-June tropical cyclone to make landfall in USA.

Make sure you are prepared with an escape route if a storm does hit. Make sure you have a meeting place for family to find each other.

On the www.colonialzone-dr.com/weather-hurricane page are many links to informative web sites about hurricane preparedness and also to keep track of an approaching storm.

If you want to see some pictures of Hurricane Irenes’ passing from last year you can see some pictures and information of Irene passing through the Colonial Zone in Santo Domingo.

If a storm comes to the Colonial City make sure to check back here for pictures and information.

Group Bonje plays Son, Merengue, Salsa, and other types of Tropical music every Sunday evening in the open air with the backdrop of the eerie looking walls, half fallen. The dance floor may be a bit difficult to dance on. The terrain is not that easy to navigate as it sits on a steep slope. Yet, this place is full of people each and every Sunday as the sun sets ready to dance, listen to the music or just sit and talk to friends and have a cold drink. this is the place to be on a Sunday Night in the Colonial Zone.

So New Years Eve Grupo Bonye usually plays even if it is not on a Sunday night. They play into the night and this special night they play until they do not want to play any more.

Go and see what Grupo Bonye is all about. New Years Eve, all night, the place will be packed full of humans. People everywhere. Great music. Food to enjoy. Friends, neighbors. people you know and people you have not met yet. And even better it is free to enter. All you need to do is buy your drink and hope you can find a place to sit.

Happy New Years Dominican style. I will post more good stuff as I hear it.

Information about Dominican Republic New Years Traditions.