2018 Hurricane Forecasts, Potential CT Impact Released

Two hurricane forecasts released this week say that the Atlantic Coast – and potentially Connecticut – could have a damaging storm season.

A 2018 Atlantic forecast released from Colorado State University says the number of named storms and hurricanes will likely be above historical averages.

AccuWeather forecasters, meanwhile, are predicting a near normal to slightly above-normal year with between 12 to 15 tropical storms.

Of those storms, 6 to 8 are forecast to become hurricanes and 3 to 5 are forecast to become major hurricanes.

"Last year we had 17 tropical storms. This year may not be quite as active, but still probably normal to slightly above normal," AccuWeather Atlantic Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski said.
2017 was a devastating hurricane season with at least four deadly named systems that made landfall, including Harvey and Irma.

Hurricanes didn't directly hit the shore but it had an impact on Connecticut. Nearly 1,500 students displaced by hurricanes and other natural disasters were admitted to public schools in Connecticut as of December. Many of the displaced children are from Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria devastated the island.

Connecticut’s last major hurricanes were the 2012 Sandy and 2011 Irene storms. Irene had weakened to a tropical storm by the time it reached Connecticut, but it still left nearly half the state without power.
Sandy caused more than $360 million worth of damage in Connecticut and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers.

The CSU study, released online and by The Weather Channel, says seven hurricanes – three of them major – and 14 named storms are expected this season along the Atlantic Coast, according to the CSU Tropical Meteorology Project.

This study says the number is above the 30-year average of six hurricanes - two of them major - and 12 named storms. The official Atlantic hurricane season runs from June through November.

"We anticipate that the 2018 Atlantic basin hurricane season will have slightly above average activity," researchers said in the report, noting that western tropical Atlantic is "anomalously" warm right now.

"As is the case with all hurricane seasons, coastal residents are reminded that it only takes one hurricane making landfall to make it an active season for them. They should prepare the same for every season, regardless of how much activity is predicted."

Hurricanes typically form over warmer water – and usually over tropical oceans, where warm water and air interact to create these storms.

Last year, 17 named storms, 10 hurricanes and 6 major hurricanes were reported in the United States – ranking it with 1936 as the fifth-most active season since records began in 1851.

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