Changes coming for the 2021 Hurricane Season and beyond what you need to know.

The official start of Hurricane Season is June 1st but this year the National Hurricane Center will start issuing outlooks May 15th which will be to watch for any possible tropical storms that could develop within five days. Named storms have formed before June 1st for six years straight now. There has been discussion to eventually move the official start of Hurricane Season to May. There are also more tropical storms and hurricanes forming during entire season. The National Hurricane Center uses 30-year averages to determine what is a "normal" number of storms each year. With the record-breaking busy 2020 Hurricane Season, the new normals from 1991-2020 have increased to 14 named storms, of which at least seven became hurricanes. At least three became major hurricanes. A recent study from NOAA concludes that warmer sea surface temperatures are likely fueling more powerful hurricanes. 90% of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is stored in the oceans. When you look at the amount of heat stored in the oceans since 1970, it's been moving up. The National Hurricane Center has also decided not to use the Greek Alphabet anymore due to the confusion the alphabet caused during the active 2020 Hurricane Season. In active years like 2005 and 2020, the hurricane names ran out and the storm names then come from he Greek alphabet. In 2021, there will be an alternate list of names more familiar to the public. Remember it only takes one storm to make it a bad season for a specific area. No matter how many storms form this season and in the seasons and years to come you can count on me to keep you informed every step of the way. Preparedness is key with all potential big weather events and the time to prepare is well ahead of any storms. Now is the time to plan for the 2021 season even if you live well inland like North Georgia or West Georgia or Northern Alabama for example. Hurricanes and Tropical Storms can have major impacts even well inland from flooding to tornadoes and dangerous wind. Zeta brought significant damage to parts of Georgia and Alabama during the 2020 Hurricane Season. Irma also brought damage to Georgia in 2017. No Matter The Weather I've Got You Covered!