2023 Hurricane Season Preparedness Week is Here

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - Eastern North Carolina is no stranger to hurricanes. In fact, over the past seven years, five hurricanes directly struck our area causing billions of dollars in damages and affecting residents. Despite the consequences from the storms, it is never too early to be prepared for the next hurricane.

Understanding Forecast Information:

- What information is gathered in a hurricane?

The National Hurricane Center in Miami, FL is responsible for issuing outlooks on possible tropical formation and advisories. Days in advance before a tropical system forms, the NHC will highlight an area of interest that should be closely monitored for possible development. If a cluster of showers and storms develop within the area monitored, it is designated as an Invest - or a broad area of low pressure. This would allow the NHC to rely on satellite imagery, marine observations and / or hurricane hunters to track the low pressure’s forward motion, atmospheric pressure and surface winds. The data is then ingested into the computer models, that help forecasters be able to look at the possible scenarios regarding the storm’s intensity, size and projected path.

If there is high confidence on an Invest, The NHC would either reclassify the area as a Potential Tropical Cyclone until a closed center is formed, a Tropical Depression (winds at or below 38 mph), or a Tropical Storm (winds 39 to 73 mph). Once a storm reaches 74 mph or greater, it is upgraded to a hurricane.

- What does the cone of uncertainty infer?

The National Hurricane Center issues advisories on tropical cyclones, to give the public and weather forecasters the latest information on the tropical cyclone of concern. During full weather advisories, the NHC will release a Cone of Uncertainity, which is an error-based track on storms that tracked within the region of concern over the past 5 years.

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