BP vs. Hurricane Season: Place Your Bets

(BP, Hurricane Alex story updated for halt to BP oil spill cleanup effort; also, correct poll added to story)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- On Tuesday, BP(BP) and the U.S. Coast Guard said Hurricane Alex had forced a temporarily suspension of oil spill cleanup efforts.

It wasn't the worst-case scenario for BP in the ongoing environmental disaster. The National Hurricane Center first warned last Friday that the low pressure system in the Caribbean, which has become Hurricane Alex, was headed for the Gulf of Mexico, and BP shares tanked on fears that Hurricane Alex would pass directly by the oil spill location.

BP and the Coast Guard sent oil skimming vessels in the Gulf of Mexico back to shore Tuesday as winds caused by Hurricane Alex reached the height of 12 feet. The U.S. Coast Guard announced a halt to all efforts off the Louisiana, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi coasts. With 25 mile per hour gusts of wind driving water toward the Gulf coast, shoreline already fighting against the encroaching oil were left more vulnerable. Tar balls were spotted washing up on shores in Alabama.

There have been more than 5,000 vessels involved in the BP oil spill cleanup effort and 27 million gallons of oil collected.

What's now clear is that hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico is one of the toughest matchups yet for BP(BP) in its oil-spill response, and it has changed from being a low pressure point on BP shares to a pressure cooker.

Tropical storm Alex is expected to make landfall by Wednesday and become Hurricane Alex near the U.S.-Mexico border.

Shell and BP both evacuated workers from offshore rigs over the weekend, though not in the vicinity of the oil spill.

If the first major Gulf hurricane of the season bypasses the BP oil spill, as expected, it may only be a momentary meteorological measure of relief for BP, with tropical storm season kicking off in the Gulf of Mexico.

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