AccuWeather's 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season forecasts 12 named tropical storms, five named hurricanes and two major hurricanes.
The 2012 hurricane forecast is near-normal for the Atlantic Basin.
Potential Impact This Year
Predicting exactly where storms will make landfall in the U.S. would be extremely difficult, but there are some indications of areas where storms may brew and coasts that may be vulnerable based on weather patterns anticipated this summer.
"Home-grown" storms in the western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, near the U.S. Coast, are a possibility this year.
"Fronts coming down during June could cause energy to break off and develop tropically," Paul Pastelok, AccuWeather.com lead long-range forecaster, said.
"Another big storm is possible for the East Coast with heavy, flooding rain," Pastelok added. "With a ridge [of high pressure] over the Rockies and a trough [of low pressure] over the Great Lakes and Appalachians, the East Coast will be open for a hit [this summer]. Of course, this depends on where the storms form."
RELATED: A Look Back at 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season
Meteorologists Warn Against False Sense of Security
Although the overall forecast numbers for 2012 are lower than 2011, AccuWeather.com meteorologists warn that it only takes one major hit to the U.S. to have a huge and devastating impact.
"People should take preliminary precautions and make preparations for hurricane season. Get a hurricane plan together and get hurricane supplies in order, such as materials to mitigate property damage. Make a family plan for evacuation, including what to bring," Kottlowski said.
The 1992 Atlantic Hurricane Season is an example of how overall numbers can lead to a false sense of security and one storm can break "hurricane amnesia" for places that have not had a direct hit in years.
The tropical season started slow and there were low numbers of named systems in 1992. During the entire season there was one subtropical storm, three tropical depressions, two tropical storms and four hurricanes.
This Sept. 4, 1992, aerial picture taken with a fish-eye lens shows the devastation left by Hurricane Andrew in Florida City, Fla. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan).
The first tropical storm of the season was named on one of the latest dates ever recorded, on August 17. That storm was named Andrew and later strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane before slamming into Homestead, Fla.
Andrew is one of the most infamous hurricanes to strike Florida, and the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. since Hurricane Camille in 1969. According to NOAA, Andrew caused $26 billion in damage and killed more than 60 people.
NOAA released its 2013 Atlantic Hurricane Season Forecast Thursday, predicting another active season.
This holiday weekend, a rare astronomical phenomenon will occur that will not be seen again until October 2015.
San Antonio is getting hit by heavy thunderstorms on Friday afternoon and evening.
A few days after a chilly storm departs the Northeast, warm weather will make a strong comeback in parts of the Midwest and the East later next week.
Severe weather and drenching downpours will affect parts of the Plains and Midwest over the Memorial Day Weekend.
"This pup was literally singing when he saw his family," Michelle Karolicki, relocation program manager of the Central Oklahoma Humane Society, said about a reunion that took place on Thursday.
| Extreme | Location | |
|---|---|---|
| High | N/A | |
| Low | N/A | |
| Precip | N/A |
Brownsville, TX (1998)
Just 0.04" of rain since April.
Abilene, TX (2000)
109 degrees, hottest ever in May.
North Texas (1986)
Severe thunderstorms produced 95 mph wind
gusts and widespread damage. More than 3" of
rain fell in less than an hour. A 29 year old
women and 6 year old daughter drowned when the
underpass they were driving into was flooded
out.
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