NOAA: Above-Normal Hurricane Season For Atlantic

Hurricanes Karl, Igor and Julia over the Atlantic in 2010 courtesy NOAA

The weather experts at NOAA today released their annual hurricane forecast for the 2011 hurricane season starting on June 1 and lasting 6 months. In the outlook, NOAA is saying the Atlantic basin should expect an above-normal hurricane season with 12 to 18 named storms, including 3 to 6 major hurricanes. The outlook adds that each prediction has a 70% likelihood.

What’s not mentioned is what percentage of storms will make landfall, but NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco reminds us “we can’t count on luck to get us through this season. We need to be prepared, especially with this above-normal outlook.”

NOAA also reminds us that next week, May 22-28, is national Hurricane Preparedness Week. To help prepare residents of hurricane-prone areas, NOAA will be unveiling a new set of video and audio public service announcements featuring NOAA hurricane experts and the FEMA administrator that are available in both English and Spanish. These are available at http://www.hurricanes.gov/prepare.

Stay tuned for gCaptain’s 2011 ranking of best websites to track hurricanes.

Check out the press release on NOAA’s 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season HERE.