Weather forecasters are predicting that the third named storm of this year’s nascent hurricane season will form later this week over the Gulf of Mexico, bringing the potential of flooding rains to the U.S. coastline.
Michael Brennan, branch chief of the Hurricane Specialist Unit at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, said they were are expecting a range of between about 13 to 20 named storms, systems that at least get to tropical storm strength
Hurricane season kicked off on June 1 and the National Hurricane Center has already tracked three storms, a rarity for this time of year and a possible indication of what is to come.
Forecasters have warned that they expect an “above-average” Atlantic hurricane season.
The National Hurricane Center said on its website that there is a 70 percent chance that the low pressure area and thunderstorms currently located in the Bay of Campeche in southern Mexico will strengthen into a tropical cyclone over the next 48 hours.
Emergency professionals were kept especially busy in 2020. With the nation largely focused on the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. experienced the worst hurricane season since 2005, with 14 hurricanes that killed more than 400 people and resulted in damages of over $51 billion.
Like many organizations around the country, Brennan said, thanks to the pandemic the NHC continues to work in a hybrid capacity.
But the agency has made sure to have personnel spread out so as to minimize the amount of travel needed in an emergency.
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