The National Weather Service is still standing beside their predictions for this year's hurricane season. Hurricane season started in June, but the peak is generally the months of August through October. This year is forecasted to be a "above normal" season. This is what is predicted:
- 13 to 19 named storms
- 6 to 9 hurricanes
- 3 to 5 major hurricanes
A season that starts off early with named storms is generally considered to be an active year. Although the storms didn't produce much, they formed early with no further storms as the summer progressed. So far we've seen, Tropical Storms Andrea, Barry, Chantel and Dorian. Another determination of season activity is variations of weather patterns like El Nino and La Nina. A La Nina season will enhance the severity of the hurricane season and this year has only a 19% chance of a La Nina. An El Nino will suppress hurricane season and our chance for that is only 8%.
Generally our area isn't too greatly impacted by large storms, but occasionally some of them make their way into the Chesapeake Bay as in the case of Hurricane Isabel. When any storm is being predicted for our area, stay tuned to weather information and take precautions. The most important thing is always safety.
