AccuWeather meteorologists recently put the final touches on their initial forecast for the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season, and they are emphasizing that preparations should begin in earnest even though the official start date is two months away.
Mother Nature threw a bit of an atmospheric curveball in 2022 despite the presence of a moderate to strong La Niña. The Atlantic generated no named storms in August, but three hurricanes roamed the basin in November. The overall number of named storms was 14, which is average and a much lower number than what the prolific 2020 and 2021 seasons produced.
So what does 2023 have in store? According to AccuWeather’s team of tropical weather forecasters, it will be less active than the majority of seasons since 1995 and may feature a similar number of storms when compared to 2022. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be dangers.
Current projections indicate that the 2023 season will be near the historical average with 11-15 named storms. Four to eight of those named storms are expected to reach hurricane strength, with one to three of those hurricanes achieving major hurricane status. A major hurricane is one that has maximum sustained winds of 111 mph or greater and is rated 3-5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
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