Friday 5 August 2022 07:34 PM NOAA predicts up to 20 named Atlantic storms after last year's caused $70 ... trends now
The East Coast could be in for a rough time over the next few months, with more violent than normal hurricane activity being forecasted.
Between 14 and 20 storms that are strong enough to be given a name by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) are expected in 2022, with up to 10 of those being classified as hurricanes. Named storms have winds over 39 mph and hurricanes have winds in excess of 74 mph.
So far, three storms have risen to named status: Hurricane Bonnie and tropical storms Alex and Colin. While the NHC defines Atlantic hurricane season as running between June 1 and November 30, major hurricane activity usually doesn’t begin until August.
Scroll down for video
Between 14 and 20 storms that are strong enough to be given a name by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) are expected in 2022, with up to 10 of those being classified as hurricanes - as pictured above in the NOAA graphic
So far this year, three storms have risen to named status: Hurricane Bonnie and tropical storms Alex and Colin. Hurricane Zeta is pictured above in the Gulf of Mexico in 2020
In August 2021, Hurricane Ida hit Louisiana with winds of up to 150 miles per hour, damaging thousands of homes and knocking out power for millions of people. Pictured above is NOAA's outlook for the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season
'Although it has been a relatively slow start to hurricane season, with no major storms developing in the Atlantic, this is not unusual and we therefore cannot afford to let our guard down,' she said in a statement. 'This is especially important as we enter peak hurricane season—the next Ida or Sandy could still be lying in wait.'
Recent years have seen significant upticks in hurricanes over the Atlantic. Last year was the third busiest on record, with 21 storms were strong enough to be given a name, including seven hurricanes.
It was the first time on record that there were enough storms to go through the entire alphabet for two consecutive years (the annual list of names does not include any that start with the letters Q, U, X, Y or Z). That’s a noteworthy increase from the period between 1991 to 2020, when there was an average of 14 named storms per year.
In August 2021, Hurricane Ida hit Louisiana with winds of up to 150 miles per hour, damaging thousands of homes and knocking out power for millions of people. According to government statistics, Ida killed 96 people and caused $75 billion in damage, making it the costliest U.S. natural disaster of the year.
'Communities and families should prepare now for the remainder of what is still expected to be an active hurricane season,' said National Weather Service director Ken Graham in a statement. Last year, there were 21 named storms (as seen above)
