Meteorologist Tawana Andrew says all signs point to another busy hurricane season
By Bill Burton
Satellite photo of Hurricane Irene on August 27, 2011 at 10:10 a.m. EDT after it made landfall at 8 a.m. in Cape Lookout, North Carolina.
June doesn't just bring warmer weather and summer vacation, it also marks the beginning of hurricane season, which lasts all the way to November 30. On the latest edition of Science Behind the Forecast, WAVE 3 meteorologist Tawana Andrew shares her predictions for this hurricane season and tells us how it impacts the weather in our region.
89.3 WFPL News Louisville · Science Behind the Forecast: WAVE3 Meteorologist Tawana Andrew predicts a busy hurricane season
"In terms of how many named storms we're expecting, right now NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) is forecasting 14 to 21 named storms," said Andrew. "Six to 10 of which could become hurricanes, that means winds of 74 mph or higher and of those hurricanes three to six could become major hurricanes."
Andrew explains the ingredients needed for a hurricane to form and why this may be a season with more hurricanes than usual.
"The ongoing La Nina, which of course is the abnormal temperature change in the Pacific waters, and that's expected to last all the way through the entire hurricane season," she said. "We also have warmer than average sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea. Remember you need 80 degree waters and we already have that showing up this early in the season."
News science behind the forecasthurricane season
Bill Burton
Bill Burton is the Morning Edition host for LPM. Email Bill at bburton@lpm.org.
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