2019 Atlantic Hurricane Season Officially Begins
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – It's June 1, the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season.
In Florida, the start of hurricane season casts a shadow of dread over coastal sections of North Florida, including Panama City, which is still struggling to recover from Hurricane Michael, a category 5 storm which hit the area in October 2018.
Michael blew ashore with winds of 160 mph. About 70% of the homes in Bay County damaged or destroyed, and some 20,000 people were displaced. Three schools remain closed because of damage, as do many businesses and apartment buildings. Officials estimate 13% of the county's 185,000 residents simply left.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently released its 2019 hurricane forecast which calls for a near normal forecast.
- 9-15 named storms (top winds of at least 39 mph)
- 4-8 hurricanes (top winds of at least 74 mph)
- 2-4 major hurricanes (category 3 or higher)
The forecast will be updated in early August, right before the peak of the hurricane season, which runs until Nov. 30.
Florida's tax-free holiday on hurricane supplies is also underway right now when residents don't have to pay sales tax on "disaster preparedness" supplies.
The exemption covers things like flashlights, portable radios, tarps, first-aid kits, batteries and coolers, with all items having a price limit. For instance, Floridians can buy a portable generator tax free, if it costs $750 or less.
There has already been one named storm in the Atlantic, with Subtropical Storm Andrea. a rare pre-season storm that formed over the eastern Atlantic earlier in May.
It is included in NOAA's estimate of up to 15 named Atlantic storms this season.
- Click here for ways to prepare yourself for an impending storm from our Hurricane Preps page
- Click here for latest news surrounding hurricanes and the National Hurricane Center
- Click here to see all of the latest maps when a storm forms in the Atlantic
- Click here to download the CBS4 2019 Hurricane Guide (English)
- Click here to download the CBS4 2019 Hurricane Guide (Spanish)
- Download the CBS4 Weather App Here
