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NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center forecasts an above-normal hurricane season in the Atlantic for 2024, running from June 1 to November 30. There’s an 85% chance of above-normal activity, with 17 to 25 named storms expected. Of these, 8 to 13 may become hurricanes, including 4 to 7 major hurricanes.

Factors contributing to this increased activity include near-record warm Atlantic temperatures, La Nina conditions in the Pacific, reduced Atlantic trade winds, and less wind shear, all of which favor storm formation.

2024 Hurricane Names

Alberto, Beryl, Chris, Debby, Ernesto, Francine, Gordon, Helene, Isaac, Joyce, Kirk, Leslie, Milton, Nadine, Oscar, Patty, Rafael, Sara, Tony, Valerie, William

Glossery of Terms

Advisory:  Official updates from tropical cyclone warning centers detailing current watches and warnings, cyclone locations, intensity, movement, and precautions. Advisories cover tropical cyclones before watches/warnings are issued and subtropical cyclones.

Best Track:  A smoothed representation of a tropical cyclone’s lifetime details, including location, intensity, and size, based on post-storm assessments. It includes data at 6-hour intervals and at landfall.

Center:  The vertical axis of a tropical cyclone, usually defined by the minimum wind or pressure location. In advisories, it refers to the surface center position.

Cyclone:  An atmospheric closed circulation rotating counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.

Eye:  A circular area of light winds at the center of a severe tropical cyclone, surrounded by the eyewall.

Eyewall / Wall Cloud:  A ring of cumulonimbus clouds surrounding the eye of a tropical cyclone.

Hurricane / Typhoon:  A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 64 knots (74 mph) or higher. “Hurricane” is used in the Northern Hemisphere east of the International Dateline, and “typhoon” is used west of the Dateline.

Hurricane Season:  In the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico, it runs from June 1 to November 30.

Hurricane Warning:  Issued when sustained winds of 64 knots (74 mph) or higher are expected within 36 hours. The warning remains in effect even if winds drop below hurricane force while dangerous conditions persist.

Hurricane Watch:  Issued when sustained winds of 64 knots (74 mph) or higher are possible within 48 hours.

Storm Surge:  An abnormal rise in sea level due to a hurricane or intense storm, measured as the difference between the observed sea level and the expected tide level.

Storm Surge Warning:  Issued for the danger of life-threatening inundation from rising water moving inland, generally within 36 hours.

Tropical Cyclone:  A warm-core cyclone with organized deep convection and a closed wind circulation around a defined center, maintained by heat energy from the ocean.

Tropical Storm:  A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph).

Tropical Storm Warning:  Issued when sustained winds of 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph) are expected within 36 hours.

Tropical Storm Watch:  Issued when sustained winds of 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph) are possible within 48 hours.

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