Hurricane Ian walloped Southwest Florida in September 2022. The Category 4 storm raked Fort Myers Beach with devastating winds and a 15-foot storm surge.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Win McNamee/Getty Images
There’s no rest for storm-weary U.S. coastal residents as the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season begins. The six-month season runs from June 1 to November 30.
Meteorologists expect this year to be fairly typical.
The official NOAA forecast calls for a “near-normal” number of storms in 2023. “NOAA is forecasting a range of 12 to 17 total named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher). Of those, 5 to 9 could become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including 1 to 4 major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5; with winds of 111 mph or higher).”
Typical or not, it only takes one storm to do catastrophic damage - especially if it hits where you live.
Last year was fairly average — but it included one of the most destructive storms of all time. In September, Hurricane Ian walloped Southwest Florida when it came ashore in Lee County just shy of a top-of-the-scale Category 5 storm with 150 mph winds. A mammoth 15-foot surge, inland flooding, electrocutions, and other Ian-related issues killed at least 149 people in the state. It was the third-costliest hurricane ever - causing $114 billion in damage.
As the season gets underway, emergency managers are pleading with residents to heed calls to evacuate if a storm is approaching and follow the advice of local officials.
This year, meteorologists have improved storm surge predictions to give people extra time to evacuate and expanded tropical weather outlooks from five days to seven.
Here are the 21 storm names of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season — with the NHC’s official pronunciations.
Arlene (ar-LEEN), Bret (bret), Cindy (SIN-dee), Don (dahn), Emily (EH-mih-lee), Franklin (FRANK-lin), Gert (gert), Harold (HAIR-uld), Idalia (ee-DAL-ya), Jose (ho-ZAY), Katia (KAH-tyah), Lee (lee), Margot (MAR-go), Nigel (NY-juhl), Ophelia (o-FEEL-ya), Philippe (fee-LEEP), Rina (REE-nuh), Sean (shawn), Tammy (TAM-ee), Vince (vinss), Whitney (WHIT-nee)
Hurricane tidbits: storm names alternate between male and female and are reused every six years unless a storm is particularly deadly or destructive (then its name is retired). There are no storms that start with Q, U, X, Y or Z because of a lack of usable names.