National Weather Service Releases 2012 Hurricane Predictions [VIDEO]

May 27- June 2, is national Hurricane Preparedness Week. To help Texans better understand and prepare for the hurricane season especially in hurricane-prone areas, videos and audio public service announcements featuring NOAA hurricane experts and the FEMA administrator, are being made available in both English and Spanish. Are you ready for hurricane season?We in far west, West Texas might say, “why do we have to be prepared for hurricanes, we don’t live near the coast.” The fact of the matter is, we actually do get to feel the ill effects of hurricanes that land on the Texas coast. In 2009 and 2011 Abilene received some much needed rain from Gulf of Mexico hurricanes. Two of those storms caused some flooding of creeks, small steams and low lying areas.

Conditions in the atmosphere and the ocean are favorable for a cyclical  hurricane season in the Atlantic Basin this year, NOAA announced that for the entire six-month season, beginning on June 1st, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center says there’s a 70 percent chance of nine to 15 named storms with four to eight gaining top wind speeds of 74 mph or higher. The center is also predicting three will become major hurricanes with top winds of 111 mph or higher, reaching to category level 3, 4 or 5.

“NOAA’s outlook predicts a less active season compared to recent years,” said NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D. “But regardless of the outlook, it’s vital for anyone living or vacationing in hurricane-prone locations to be prepared. We have a stark reminder this year with the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Andrew.” Andrew, the Category 5 hurricane that devastated South Florida on August 24, 1992, was the first storm in a late-starting season that produced only six named storms.