While the official start of the 2023 hurricane season is a little over 60-days away, it’s never too soon to start thinking about the upcoming season on the island and South Florida.
As you may recall, 2017 was an active and ugly hurricane season. The 2017 season remains one of the costliest on record, with 17 named storms, 10 hurricanes, six major hurricanes, and losses of almost $300 billion, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information.
Three names from 2017 are now retired: Harvey, Irma and Maria.
For 2023, Harvey has been replaced by Harold, Irma by Idalia, and Margot replacing Maria.
Key Biscayne residents will remember Hurricane Irma, in particular. That September storm battered the island, testing the Village’s emergency response operations. It was the first time the Village moved government operations, and police and fire-rescue personnel and equipment off-island. Response teams staged at three locations: Marlins Park, a City of Miami Fire Department building, and a Brickell-area hotel.
Also, the 2023 hurricane season will feature an important change when the National Hurricane Center (NHC) unveils a new Tropical Weather Outlook (TWO) format.
The Outlook provides information on where – and when – the National Hurricane Center is focusing for potential tropical development. Traditionally, the Outlook forecasts five days into the future..
This season, the NHC will extend the outlook seven days. NHC will start issuing forecasts May 15 that highlight areas in the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea that may see storm development.
As before, the forecast maps will use the colors yellow, orange or red to reflect the percentage odds for tropical development of an area.
These forecasts will continue to be updated four times a day: 2 a.m., 8 a.m., 2 p.m. and 8 p.m through the season's end on November 30.
