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CAPE FEAR MEMORIAL BRIDGE CLOSURE: UPDATES, RESOURCES, AND CONTEXT

CoastLine: Hurricane Season 2018 Expected To See Normal To Above-Normal Activity

NOAA (Storm image), NASA (Land image) - NOAA CLASS (class.ncdc.noaa.gov), EOSDIS Worldview
Hurricane Fran near peak intensity on September 4, 1996

2018 is likely to see normal to slightly above-normal storm Atlantic hurricane activity.  That's according to the newly-released forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.   The breakdown looks like this:  10-16 named storms; 5-9 may become hurricanes.  Of those, one to four could become major hurricanes. 

According to Meteorologist Josh Weiss of the National Weather Service in Wilmington, that's very close to an average season in the Atlantic basin which would see 12 named storms, 6 of which become hurricanes with three major hurricanes. 

One forecast for the 2018 hurricane season out of Colorado State University predicts fourteen named storms, seven hurricanes, and three major hurricanes.  That projection puts this year’s activity at slightly above average.  Hurricane season starts June 1st – that’s next week –and lasts through November 30th.  There are new prediction tools this year that we learn about on this edition of CoastLine, estimated arrival times of, for example, tropical storm force winds.  There’s also a new storm surge tool that is operational this year.

Generally, forecasts are getting better, error cones are shrinking, and storms are intensifying.  Our guests on this show have lots of expert direction to offer regarding hurricane preparedness – before, during, and after a storm – but one important point they’ll drive home every chance they get:  it only takes one major storm making landfall, and the time to prepare is now. 

Guests:

Steven Still, New Hanover County Emergency Management and 911 Director

Josh Weiss, Meteorologist, National Weather Service, Wilmington office

Resources:

New Hanover County Hazard Mitigation Plan

Hurricane Preparedness: 

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/prepare/ready.php

https://www.ready.gov/hurricanes?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIityG2_We2wIVipyzCh3DyAhWEAAYASAAEgLRcPD_BwE

Rachel hosts and produces CoastLine, an award-winning hourlong conversation featuring artists, humanitarians, scholars, and innovators in North Carolina. The show airs Wednesdays at noon and Sundays at 4 pm on 91.3 FM WHQR Public Media. It's also available as a podcast; just search CoastLine WHQR. You can reach her at rachellh@whqr.org.
Rachel is a graduate of UNCW's Master of Public Administration program, specializing in Urban and Regional Policy and Planning. She also received a Master of Education and two Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science and French Language & Literature from NC State University. She served as WHQR's News Fellow from 2017-2019. Contact her by email: rkeith@whqr.org or on Twitter @RachelKWHQR