Ahead of hurricane season, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is releasing its outlook for the 2019 season out of the Atlantic basin. According to their forecasts, there's a 40% chance to see a near normal season.

The outlook indicates we will see 9-15 named storms. 4-8 of those named storms would become hurricanes, and 2-4 would be major hurricanes being category 3 or higher.

This is near the norm as an average season produces 12 named storms, 6 of which are hurricanes and 3 are major hurricanes.

We've already had one named storm so far this season. Subtropical Storm Andrea formed May 17 near Bermuda. This storm was short-lived and had no impact on the mainland U.S.

Other storms this season will take on the following names:

  • Barry
  • Chantal
  • Dorian
  • Erin
  • Fernand
  • Gabrielle
  • Humberto
  • Imelda
  • Jerry
  • Karen
  • Lorenzo
  • Melissa
  • Nestor
  • Olga
  • Pablo
  • Rebekah
  • Sebastien
  • Tanya
  • Van
  • Wendy

What this outlook does not indicate is what storms if any will make landfall. We could have 3 or 4 major hurricanes that don't impact the mainland U.S.which would have little to no effect on us but on the flip side, one hurricane rated a category 1 that hits a major city could spell disaster.

We'll be sure to let you know if any storms develop and where they're headed.

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