Early-Season Hurricane Forecast Released

It may only be April, but we're a little more than 50 days away from the official start of hurricane season in the Atlantic Basin. This week an early-season tropical weather outlook was released. https://youtu.be/6fdDtsdiOfA Each spring, lead researcher/forecaster Phillip Klotzbach releases his forecast for the Atlantic hurricane season at the National Tropical Weather Conference in South Padre Island, Texas. Klotzbach, a Meteorologist at Colorado State University, discussed the upcoming 2019 season on Thursday, saying a near-average or slightly below-average hurricane season is anticipated. While the number of named storms is forecast to be above average, the total number of days with tropical storms, hurricanes and major hurricanes is all expected to be below average. The April edition of the 2019 hurricane season forecast issued by Colorado State University. For a fuller discussion on the reasoning for this year's forecast, watch the video above. In short, an anticipated El Niño should produce more wind shear which in turn tends to limit tropical development. Also, a couple areas of cooler-than-average water temperatures in the Atlantic Basin could limit thunderstorm and tropical development. No matter the seasonal outlook, now is the time to prepare! It only takes one storm to bring loss of life, extensive damage, and/or change people's lives forever. Remember last year? There were two major hurricanes; Florence and Michael. Both ended up making landfall in the Southeast United States. Hurricane Preparedness Week is May 5-11, 2019 and is a good time to review your storm plan, storm kit and double check your home to make sure it is ready! We will continue to keep you covered as hurricane season approaches! For WeatherNation, Meteorologist Steve Glazier