Jeff Masters: Tropical Storm Alex Expected in Gulf

Invest 93, off the coast of Haiti.

One hurricane expert is predicting the first tropical storm of 2010 Atlantic hurricane season will make its way into the Gulf next week. And if a strong storm passes over the oil spill, it could spread the oil far and wide.

Meteorologist Jeff Masters spent four years flying into hurricanes for the federal government and now writes a popular blog on hurricanes for the website Weather Underground.

He’s closely tracking a tropical wave off the coast of Haiti. It’s expected by many forecasters to become Tropical Storm Alex, and make its way into the Gulf by early next week.

Masters says it’s too soon to say exactly where this storm would go. But odds are, a hurricane or tropical storm eventually will pass over the oil spill, he said.

“I think the odds are at least 75 percent this season,” he said. “And if the oil is there, then the hurricane is going to blow it around. I expect we’re going to see a lot of oil get moved over a large region of the Gulf of Mexico this season.”

He says a big enough storm could push oil deep inland, bringing oil into rivers, marshes and bays.

The storm surge would carry the oil inland, and heavy rain would spread it into rivers and the groundwater.

He says the coast of west Florida, called the “forbidden zone” for ocean currents, has protected the Tampa Bay area. That’s because ocean currents don’t come from the surface, but from deep below.

But “all best are off” if a strong storm or hurricane hits the west coast of Florida, or even if it passes close enough to shore. Those winds are strong enough to drive the oil into the Tampa Bay region, he said.

CLICK HERE to hear Jeff Masters talk more about oil spills and storms, and what happened when a strong storm hit the Exxon Valdez oil spill site.