Despite cooler temps, county officials remain watchful of tropics

Colder temperatures mean it's time to start breaking out scarves and sweaters, but there's one lingering tropical phenomenon many may have lost track of. Florida's 89.1, WUFT-FM's Jordan Matich recently spoke with Levy County Emergency Management Director Mark Johnson who says although the 2011 hurricane season was active, residents should not let their guards down just yet.

Meanwhile, hurricane researchers say they've gotten very good at predicting the path of a hurricane. They're now as accurate at 48 hours before landfall. University of Florida Geography Professor Corey Matchas says there have been numerous developments in hurricane forecast models.

Matchas says the downfall in storm research is predicting the intensity of tropical systems.

NOAA meteorologists use doppler radar technology on the tails of the P-3 aircraft used in hurricane tracking. Matchas says this technology gives a cat scan of the storm inside and out.

The radar data will now be sent in real time to forecasters on the ground at emergency management centers. The offical end to hurricane season is November 30th.