Four ‘Major’ Hurricanes Predicted to Hit US in 2018

With Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria just three of the six hurricanes that reached a Category 3 or higher, the 2017 hurricane season proved to be one of the worst in recent memory.

Unfortunately it appears the 2018 hurricane season will potentially be just as dangerous, as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a report on Thursday indicating the season will see 10 to 16 named tropical storms with the number of hurricanes ranging between five and nine. One to four of the hurricanes will reportedly reach “major” hurricane status.

With those numbers, the NOAA indicates the season (June 1 to November 30) will have a 35 percent chance of an above-normal season and a 40 percent chance of a near normal season (12 named storms, six hurricanes, three major hurricanes).

“With the advances made in hardware and computing over the course of the last year, the ability of NOAA scientists to both predict the path of storms and warn Americans who may find themselves in harm’s way is unprecedented,” Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said in the NOAA report. “The devastating hurricane season of 2017 demonstrated the necessity for prompt and accurate hurricane forecasts.”

The organization explained the causes for the potentially destructive season is a weak El Nino developing and near-average sea surface temperatures in the Caribbean Sea and certain tropical areas of the Atlantic Ocean. These factors have reportedly been consistently creating stronger hurricane seasons since 1995.

“NOAA’s observational and modeling enhancements for the 2018 season put us on the path to deliver the world’s best regional and global weather models,” Dr. Neil Jacobs, assistant secretary of commerce for environmental observation and prediction, said in the NOAA’s report. “These upgrades are key to improving hurricane track and intensity forecasts, allowing NOAA to deliver the best science and service to the nation.”

The 2018 hurricane season will reach its peak in early August.

The previous hurricane season reportedly cost roughly $282.16 billion in damages, with anywhere from 416 to 1,437 reported casualties as a result of the storms.

The season saw Hurricane Harvey hit Houston in August, which due to catastrophic flooding cost the city $125 billion in damages (tying it with Hurricane Katrina in 2005 for costliest tropical cyclone in American history). Many areas in eastern Texas saw 40 inches of rain in a span of four days, displacing more than 30,000 people and causing 107 confirmed deaths.

The storm was followed by Hurricane Irma hitting portions of the Caribbean and Florida in September. The storm was followed just two weeks later by Hurricane Maria, which tour through Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm. The storm was the costliest in the island’s history and United States territory is still recovering.