Hurricane season officially begins on June 1st, and forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are predicting average to above average storm activity in the Atlantic Ocean.
“We’re expecting a lot of activity this year,” said Gerry Bell, lead hurricane season forecaster with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. “At this time, it does not look that we will be as active as last year.”
Specifically, Bell says they expect between 10 and 16 named storms, 5-9 of which will develop into hurricanes. Up to four of those are expected to reach category 3 or higher.
And, while NOAA doesn’t forecast where potential future storms might end up, Bell says more storm activity raises the chances of a storm actually hitting land. At this point, he says, everyone should be getting prepared.