HURRICANE SEASON IS OVER! The 2019 Atlantic hurricane season wraps up Nov. 30 with 18 named storms.
The 2019 Atlantic hurricane season officially ends Nov. 30, meterologists say.
Hurricane season starts June 1 and lasts until Nov. 30 every year.
The season started a little early, though, with Subropical Storm Andrea on May 20.
The Atlantic Ocean had 18 named storms from May through November.
Six of the 18 named storms became hurricanes. three of the six hurricanes were “major” hurricanes with a Category 3 status or higher, meteorologists say.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationoutlook predicted 10-17 named storms, five to nine hurricanes and two to four major hurricanes.
“During each and every hurricane season, thousands of workers across the federal government coordinate with NOAA to safeguard Americans against the threat posed by hurricanes,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “From advanced warnings to business aid, the Department of Commerce stands ready to help Americans from a storm’s formation to long after its dissipation.”
Officials said 2019 marks the fourth consecutive above-normal Atlantic hurricane season.
“NOAA provided around-the-clock support to communities before, during and after each tropical weather threat,” said Neil Jacobs, acting NOAA administrator. “The expertise of our forecasters, coupled with upgrades like those to the Global Forecast System model and our next-generation environmental satellites, helped NOAA and its partners save lives and protect property all season long.”
There were three major hurricanes this season: Dorian, Humberto and Lorenzo.
Experts said Hurricane Dorian is tied with three other hurricanes — the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane, 1988’s Hurricane Gilbert and 2005’s Hurricane Wilma — as the second-strongest hurricane on record in the Atlantic basin in terms of wind (185 mph).
“This season’s activity ramped up in mid-August during the normal peak of the season, as we predicted,” said Gerry Bell, lead seasonal hurricane forecaster at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. “The above-normal activity is consistent with the ongoing high-activity era, driven largely by theAtlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, which entered a warm phase in 1995. Conditions that favored more, stronger-and longer-lasting storms this year included a stronger West African monsoon, warmer Atlantic waters- and weak vertical wind shear across the western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.”
According to experts, an average season has 12 named storms, six hurricanes and three major hurricanes.
During the 2019 season, experts said NOAA’s hurricane hunter aircraft and crews flew 57 missions over 430 hours, which, along with the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron of the Air Force Reserve, provided critical data that aided in storm forecasting and research.
Officials said now is the time for the public to become Weather-Ready and prepare for the 2020 hurricane season.
The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1.
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