"This is your warning," said Kathryn Sullivan, administrator of the The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
And what a warning it is: today, the NOAA is prediced 13-20 named Atlantic Storms for the upcoming months. It's saying that 7 to 11 of those could become hurricanes, with 3 to 6 of those reaching 111 mph and higher (which are the worst categories of hurricanes). How sure are these weather mavens? They're giving themselves odds of 70% that they're correct.
Uh oh.
To put this all in perspective, during a normal year, there will be only 12 named storms, 6 of them becoming hurricanes and 3 of those turning into major howlers.
This is terrible news for anyone living in or planning to visit the Atlantic Coast of the US, the Bahamas, or the Caribbean. As a resident of New York City, one who lived without power for a week thanks to my buddy Sandy, I'm considering putting in supplies now, before the rush for water, batteries and flashlights happens.
And as a travel expert, I'm saying: perhaps this is the year to head out west to Yellowstone or Yosemite.
I hate to be negative, but to ignore these types of warnings seem foolish. We've had too many years in a row of dire predictions that came true.
Sorry to end the day with such a worrisome blog post. Forewarned, however, is forearmed.
