We’re still a month away from the official start of hurricane season, but things are already warming up.
Forecasters are keeping an eye on a storm system off the tip of South Florida that’s expected to bring heavy rains to the Bahamas and the Florida peninsula. Should it become a tropical storm, it will be named Andrea. Fortunately, say meteorologists, that doesn’t look likely.
The disturbance currently has a 10% chance of developing into a cyclone, according to the National Hurricane Center. That’s down from 20% on Wednesday.
The water off the eastern coast, though, is abnormally warm, which could cause issues this year. And it’s possible we will see an early season named storm, regardless of what happens to this one.
That’s not welcome news to Florida residents who are still trying to reassemble their lives after Hurricane Michael, a Category 5 storm, hit last October, causing over $25 billion in damages.
This year’s hurricane season will officially begin on June 1.
The 2019 hurricane season might not be as bad as 2018, though. Forecasters at Colorado State University say they anticipate the 2019 hurricane season in the Atlantic will have “slightly below normal activity.”
Experts say they expect to see 13 named storms this year, with only two major hurricanes. There’s a 48% chance a major storm, either a Category 3, 4 or 5, will hit the east coast. Last year, there were 15 named storms, including two major hurricanes.