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As Atlantic Hurricane Season Officially Begins, Chance of Cyclone Development in Gulf of Mexico

As Atlantic Hurricane Season Officially Begins, Chance of Cyclone Development in Gulf of Mexico

Created: Thursday, June 1, 2023 - 12:32
Categories:
Emergency Response & Recovery, Federal & State Resources, Natural Disasters

Today marks the official first day of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs until November 30. Already, there is a potential system in the Gulf of Mexico, where the National Hurricane Center (NHC) says there is a 50 percent chance of a cyclone forming.

Earlier, the NHC said there was just a 20 percent chance of the system developing. But showers and thunderstorms around the area became "better organized" and the forecasted conditions seem more favorable for the system to further develop within the next day or so, making it more possible for a "short-lived" tropical depression or storm to form. By this weekend, however, the forecast is expected to be "unfavorable" for the system to substantially develop. Regardless of whether a cyclone forms, the NHC advises locally heavy rainfall could occur over portions of the Florida Panhandle through this weekend. Read more at the NHC and CBS News.

With the beginning of hurricane season, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has noted the products it provides to share information with partners. Some of these include:

  • Tropical Weather Outlooks, which briefly describes significant areas of disturbed weather and their potential for tropical cyclone formation during the next seven days. The issuance times of this product are 2 AM, 8 AM, 2 PM, and 8 PM EDT.
  • Special Tropical Weather Outlooks, which are issued to provide updates, as necessary, in between the regularly scheduled issuances of the Tropical Weather Outlook.
  • Standard and optional products for ongoing and potential cyclones, such as advisories and forecasts, watches and warnings, wind speed probabilities, and more.
  • The Tropical Cyclone Update is a brief statement to inform of significant changes in a tropical cyclone, to post or cancel watches or warnings, or to provide hourly position updates between intermediate advisories when the storm center is easily followed by radar.

There is an array of resources available to assist utilities with preparing for and responding to hurricanes. Some of these include: