2017 Hurricane Season Is Underway

GALVESTON, TX — Hurricane season is here, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting a busier than normal season in the Atlantic Ocean for 2017.

Hurricane season kicked off on June 1 and continues through Nov. 30, and the NOAA predicts as many as nine hurricanes, with four of those being a category three or higher, will form in the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean or Caribbean Sea this season. (Want to get daily updates about traffic news and other events going on in your area? Sign up for the free Houston Patch morning newsletter.)

The NOAA also predicts that the hurricane season could see as many as 17 named storms, higher than the average storm count of six hurricanes, with three classified as category 3 and higher, and 12 named tropical storms.

For the most part, the hurricane season has already started with Tropical Storm Arlene forming in the Atlantic last month. Arlene never made landfall in the U.S., but that hardly means it won’t happen soon.

Federal officials urge residents living along the south Atlantic seaboard and the Gulf Coast to start preparing right now.

Read Also: Tax-Free Holiday For Emergency Supplies Happens This Weekend

The Texas Gulf Coast has dodged a bullet in recent years and managed to evade any major hurricane impacting the Galveston coastline, with the last being Hurricane Ike in 2009. Before that it was Hurricane Rita that zeroed in on Galveston, just a week after Hurricane Katrina nearly destroyed New Orleans.

In 2016, the Texas Comptroller’s Office launched the Tax-Free Holiday for Emergency Supplies, which is held in the third weekend in April. The weekend is designed to help Texans prepare for the spring and summer seasons that typically bring tornadoes, hurricanes and storms.

Meanwhile, the higher than expected predicted storm total has a lot to do with a weak El Nino, which could change as hurricane season begins.

“The outlook reflects our expectation of a weak or non-existent El Nino, near- or above-average sea-surface temperatures across the tropical Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, and average or weaker-than-average vertical wind shear in that same region,” said Gerry Bell, lead seasonal hurricane forecaster with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.

Last month, Colorado predicted 11 named storms, four hurricanes and two major hurricanes, while The Weather Co. on May 22 predicted 14 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes.

Image: Kabsik Park via Flickr

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