NOAA predicts another busy hurricane season

(WDBJ) - NOAA forecasters at the Climate Prediction Center are expecting nothing different this year: another active hurricane season.

Tuesday morning NOAA released their annual forecast for the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season predicting the seventh straight above-average season.

This season, NOAA is forecasting a likely range of 14 to 21 named storms, of which 6 to 10 could become hurricanes and 3 to 6 could become major hurricanes.

The hurricane season begins June 1st and lasts until November 30th.

Coming off an historic hurricane season in 2021, NOAA expects similar conditions to allow for another very active year. NOAA points towards an ongoing La Nina that is likely to last through the hurricane season, warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, weaker tropical Atlantic trade winds, and an enhanced west African Monsoon.

The Atlantic basin is running warm and could help form more storms this year. — The Atlantic basin is running warm and could help form more storms this year.(WDBJ Weather)

All of these factors can lead to more hurricanes to form during the season. Warmer SSTs can fuel storms while weaker winds help storms to develop and sustain themselves as they move over the open waters.

NOAA encourages everyone along the coast to prepare now so that you have a plan in place if a storm were to make landfall. Often times, SW Virginia is prone to flooding with tropical events. Building an emergency kit is a great place to start!

Link: “The importance of preparing for an emergency”

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