When is the hurricane season? This is when you can expect the most storm.
When do most hurricanes happen? Here’s what you need to know about hurricane season and how you can prepare.
Tropical Storm Gabriel continues to be strengthened as it moves across the Atlantic, along with predictors who hope the storm will become a hurricane by Sunday.
The storm is expected to reach hurricane strength when passing east of Bermuda from Sunday night, given the name Gabriel on September 17th, said in an update on Saturday, September 20th at 11am.
Gabriel will be located on Saturday about 615 miles southeast of Bermuda and 540 miles northeast of the Northern Leeward Islands, including Anguilla, Montserrat and St. Martin. Currently, the storm is producing maximum sustained winds of 60 mph in gusts, but is expected to be gradually strengthened.
Bermuda is beginning to experience swells created by Gabriel, with construction expected over the weekend, likely leading to life-threatening surfing and current conditions, the Hurricane Centre said.
The swell is expected to strike beaches along the Atlantic coast, from North Carolina and the North to the Canadian Atlantic coast. The swells can cause the current state of life-threatening surfing and ripping, which can lead to the current state that begins later this weekend, according to the NHC.
The NHC warned the people of Bermudan to expect wind and rain from Gabriel.
Gabriel became the seventh name storm in the Atlantic Basin this year, and the first name storm in the Atlantic since August 28th.
Tropical Storm Gabriel Tracker
Tropical Storm Gabriel Spaghetti Model
The illustrations include an array of prediction tools and models, not all are created equal. Hurricane Centers can help you make predictions using only the top four or five top performance models.
The Hurricane Centre is also tracking tropical waves in the eastern Atlantic Ocean off the coast of western Africa, which predictors say may develop slowly. However, predictors have reduced the likelihood of formation until the next seven days.
The Hurricane Center also monitors two systems in the Eastern Pacific, with different possibilities for it to develop into tropical suppression over the next few days.
Located hundreds of miles south of Mexico’s southern coast, NHC said, “a wide area with low pressure” will create a wide area of organized showers and thunderstorms, which will likely lead to tropical depression.
The system travels west-northwest at 5-10 mph parallel to the country’s coast, so it could develop over the next 48 hours, with a great opportunity in the next seven days.
Another system labelled to track it as the Invest 96L, located west of the Revillagigedo Islands (south of Cabo San Lucas), has weakened over the past 12 hours, with the anti-disruption being expected to be less likely to develop in the next 48 hours.
How do hurricanes form?
Hurricanes originate in the tropical regions above warm waters. Thunderstorm clusters can develop across the ocean when the water temperature exceeds 80 degrees. If conditions are correct, clusters are swirling into tropical waves and storms known as tropical depression.
Tropical depression becomes a named tropical storm when its sustained wind speed reaches 39 mph. When the wind reaches 74 mph, the storm officially becomes a hurricane.
Get ready for a hurricane now
Delaying preparations to potentially save lives could mean waiting until it’s too late. “Get disaster supply while the shelves are still in stock and flood insurance requires a 30-day waiting period, so get that insurance inspection early,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recommends.
- Establish an evacuation plan. If you are at risk from a hurricane, you will need an evacuation plan. Now is the time to plan where you will go and how you will get there.
- Assemble disaster supply. Whether you’re evacuated or not, you’ll need supplies not only to get through the storm, but perhaps for the long aftermath, NOAA said.
- Get an insurance inspection and document your property. Contact your insurance company or agent now to ask for an insurance inspection to make sure you have enough insurance to repair or replace your home or belongings. Remember that housing and tenant insurance doesn’t cover floods, so you’ll need individual insurance for them. Flood insurance is available through your company, agent, or through your national flood insurance program.
- Create a family communication plan. NOAA says you should take the time to write down your hurricane plans and share them with your family. Determine where family gatherings are to be met and include out-of-town locations in case of evacuation.
- It strengthens your home. Now is the time to improve the home’s ability to withstand hurricanes. Fit the wood, attach storm shutters, accordion shutters, and impact glass to seal the outside of the wall opening.
Contributed by: Gabe Hauari and Doyle Rice.
Mike Snyder is a national trending news reporter for USA Today. You can follow him in the thread, send BlueSky, X with X and send him an email Bliss & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider &msnider@usatoday.com
What are you guys talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day
