JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has taken it up a notch in the wake of the completely insane seasons of the past 6 years. New to the area? Not sure what we are talking about? Here is a recap...
| Highlight of the season | Major Hurricanes | Hurricanes | Tropical Storms | Total | Jacksonville impacts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | All-time busiest Hurricane Season | 6 | 14 | 16 | 30 | Louisiana Hit by 4 hurricanes, 2 Major Hurricanes |
| 2019 | Category 5 Dorian Destroys Northern Bahamas | 6 | 9 | 11 | 20 | Dorian - Category 5 just 325 miles from Jacksonville |
| 2018 | Category 5 Michael Destroys Mexico Beach, FL Florence dumps 50″ on Wilmington, NC | 2 | 8 | 7 | 15 | Michael - Category 5 just 225 miles from Jacksonville |
| 2017 | Category 5 Irma Devastates the Northern Caribbean Islands, Cuba and Florida. Maria crushes Puerto Rico right after Irma. 1/3 of a Trillion Dollars in Damages | 6 | 10 | 7 | 17 | Flooding in downtown Jacksonville. Massive Statewide power outages that lasted for weeks. |
| 2016 | Category 5 Matthew, a late season storm slides right up the Florida Peninsula. Jacksonville has 5 storms track within 125 miles of the city | 4 | 7 | 8 | 15 | Major hurricane Matthew was the strongest storm to impact Jacksonville since 2004 |
| 2015 | Started quiet until late in the season when Category 4 Joaquin (winds 155 mph) sank the Jacksonville based freighter the El Faro (33 died) | 2 | 4 | 7 | 11 | Our last truly quiet season in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia |
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So, because of this recent history and indications that the upcoming season will be another active season, the NHC wants you to take the time this week to review and prepare for the upcoming season.
Starting today with “Determining Your Risk”.
Simply, “know your zone”.
Living along the barrier islands, yes, this includes St. Augustine Beach, Vilano Beach, Ponte Vedra Beach, Jacksonville, Neptune, Atlantic, Fernandina Beaches. About 200,000 people. Living here, your main goal is to prepare to “run from the water (storm surge) and then hide from the wind”. Yep, you need to focus your plans on evacuations and prepping for being away from home for an extended period of time.
Living inland is equally challenging as you must know “your zone” as you still may need to evacuate but you will be sheltering in place, and this could be for weeks without power. Here are things you must consider when preparing for hurricane season.
Over the next 7 days The Weather Authority will bring you different topics each day to help prepare you for Hurricane Season which officially starts June 1st.