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TWO weeks before a hurricane hits the Gulf of Mexico there is often a subtle
change in the winds halfway around the globe. Researchers at the University of
Washington in Seattle have found that during the hurricane season, the onset of
westerlies in the western Pacific and the Indian Ocean signals a fourfold rise
in the risk of a hurricane blowing in the Gulf of Mexico (Science, vol
287, p 2002). “We were somewhat surprised to find such a strong dependence,”
says researcher Eric Maloney, because the two regions are so far apart. What
links the two events is…