Hurricane season officially started on June 1st, though Tropical Storm Ana’s appearance along the coast in May proved storms don’t follow official calendars. Even with the early interloper, NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is predicting a below-normal storm season for 2015.
According to its website, NOAA is predicting up to 11 named storms, with 3 to 6 becoming hurricanes, and two becoming major hurricanes.
Still, as all boaters and coastal residents should be aware, it only takes one. From the official NOAA forecast page comes this quote:
“A below-normal season doesn’t mean we’re off the hook. As we’ve seen before, below-normal seasons can still produce catastrophic impacts to communities,” said NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan, Ph.D., referring to the 1992 season in which only seven named storms formed, yet the first was Andrew – a Category 5 Major Hurricane that devastated South Florida.
So boaters, be vigilant, follow our hurricane preparedness advice, and keep track of potential storms at NOAA’s hurricane tracking page, shown here: nhc.noaa.gov
