Any storm reaching the Gulf of Mexico or Caribbean Sea should find ample warm water with which to work. One of the best measures of this capacity for a storm to rapidly intensify, as we saw with Katrina and Rita, is the tropical cyclone heat potential.
The map for earlier this week appears below. Anything above 80 kilojoules-per-square-centimeter (faint yellow) is warm enough for intensification, and areas in orange and especially red are to be feared.
From SciGuy at the Houston Chronicle
Here's the May 3, 2007 GAO report:
Financial Risks to Federal and Private Insurers in Coming Decades are Potentially Significant
24 page PDF
My strategy? Keep the gas tank full (and maybe some other tactics).
