National Hurricane Center Discussing Whether to Revise Hurricane Season Official Start Date to May 15
Ernice Gilbert |
March 02, 2021
Traditionally, hurricane season has started on June 1 of each year, but the National Hurricane Center has been discussing whether to revise the date to an earlier month, specifically May 15, a change that stems from advances in technology that allows NHC to better determine when storms form. Indeed, named storms for the last six years came before the official June 1 start of the season. And in 2020, two named storms, Arthur and Bertha, came before June 1. NHC Meteorologist Dennis Feltgen said while many of the systems that develop in May are short-lived, they are nonetheless better identified through new technology, specifically better monitoring tools. During last year's extremely active season, NHC issued approximately 36 special tropical weather outlooks before June 1. This year, these outlooks will start May 15. However, a team of NHC…