The official start to the 2010 hurricane season is underway and  The Weather Channel® (TWC) will bring viewers the thrill and excitement of "Hurricane Week" June 5-13. The week will be dedicated to preparing viewers for the season with informative segments and safety tips along with hurricane-themed programming including new episodes of Storm Stories.

TWC will also introduce its new hurricane expert, Dr. Rick Knabb, who will make his hurricane season debut providing in-depth forecast analysis and tropical storm updates as they happen. In addition, Meteorologists Jim Cantore and Stephanie Abrams will offer live reports from locations that have witnessed historic hurricanes from the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season.

The week of original programming begins Saturday, June 5, at 8 p.m. ET with new hurricane-related episodes of popular series Storm Stories, hosted by Jim Cantore. Viewers will hear tales from survivors and rescuers battling amazing weather events including harrowing stories from the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In addition, a special episode from Storm Riders: "Hurricane Bill," premieres Saturday, June 5, at 9 p.m. ET, following intrepid chasers Simon and Juston as they take a break from Tornado Alley to hunt one of Mother Nature's most powerful forces, hurricanes.

New Storm Stories episodes include:

Saturday, June 5

• "Hurricane Katrina/WLOX" (8 p.m. ET, encores Sunday, June 6) - A local TV station along the Mississippi Gulf Coast decides to stick with around-the-clock coverage, risking their own lives to inform and urge residents to evacuate as Hurricane Katrina targets their backyards. The news team continues to broadcast as powerful winds rip the roof off the station and knocks down towers, cutting off electricity.
• "Hurricane Rita/Dolphin" (8:30 p.m. ET, encores Sunday, June 6) - In September of 2005,Hurricane Rita wreaks havoc on Galveston, Texas, just weeks after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast. Firefighters take action to save the historic Galveston district and multiple groups join forces to attempt to rescue a dolphin trapped by the storm's powerful surge.

Monday, June 7

• "Hurricane Camille/Pass Christian" (8 p.m. ET) - Locals living along the Gulf Coast are no stranger to hurricanes. This idyllic spot can also be the ideal spot for major hurricanes as it was in 1969 when Hurricane Camille swept through leaving lives shattered and forever changed. Witness survivors' stories as families are separated by surging flood waters and are left to fight for their own survival.
• "Hurricane Iniki/Weddings" (8:30 p.m. ET) - September 11, 1992. Hurricane Iniki bulldozes the beautiful island of Kauai in Hawaii. The most powerful hurricane to ever hit the state turns a romantic dream honeymoon into a nightmare for one pair of newlyweds and gives another couple a wedding that they will never forget.

Hurricane-related episodes of It Could Happen Tomorrow, When Weather Changed History and additional episodes of Storm Stories will be shown throughout the week of June 5-13. Hurricane preparation and safety tips, information and video will be featured online and on mobile from http://www.weather.com/.

Cantore and Abrams will report from various locations devastated by past hurricanes to meet with locals who were affected by Hurricanes Dennis, Katrina and Rita. Viewers will get a closer look at how far along the rebuilding and healing process has come nearly five years later.

 "Hurricane Week" live reports include:

• Monday: Abrams-New Orleans, LA (Hurricane Katrina) 
               Cantore-Biloxi, MS and Gulfport, MS (Hurricane Katrina)
• Tuesday: Cantore-Bay St. Louis, MS and Pass Christian, MS (Hurricane Katrina)
• Wednesday: Abrams-Navarre Beach, FL (Hurricane Dennis)
• Thursday: Cantore-Cameron Parish, LA (Hurricane Rita)

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