CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — On Thursday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released the National Hurricane Center's official prediction for this year's Atlantic hurricane season. Scientists are calling for an above-average or busy season due to warm sea surface temperatures and signs that the La Niña phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation will begin this summer.
NOAA’s outlook for the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, calls for an 85% chance of above-normal season activity. Still it's important to keep in mind that outlook predict activity across the entire Atlantic Basin: the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico. The administration says the outlook "is not a landfall forecast". Still, it's good to be prepared for hurricane season, which begins on June 1.
The outlook calls for 17 to 25 named storms, 8 to 13 hurricanes, and 4 to 7 major hurricane (category 3 or stronger). NOAA scientists have a 70% confidence in these ranges.
Here in the Coastal Bend, we tend to see tropical activity in our part of the Gulf starting in late June and mid- July. Activity really starts to ramp up in August and September.
