Hard Hurricane Season Could Hit East Coast After Coronavirus Peak

NEW YORK CITY — The East Coast could be headed for a brutal hurricane season just after the new coronavirus outbreak peaks in New York City, forecasters say.

The 2020 hurricane season could bring 16 named storms — four more than the average — up the Atlantic Coast this summer, according to Colorado State University meteorologists.

“The team predicts that 2020 hurricane activity will be about 140 percent of the average season,” meteorologists wrote.

“By comparison, 2019’s hurricane activity was about 120 percent of the average season.”

Half of the 16 storms will become hurricanes, and four could reach gusts of 111 miles per hour, the meteorologists said.

There is an almost 70 percent chance a major hurricane land somewhere on the U.S. coastline during the 2020 season, which begins in June and extends through November, the CSU team said.

The 2020 COVID-19 projections indicate that the pandemic will peak near the end of April and continue into July, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday.

"We're never going to be the same again, we're not going to forget what happened here," Cuomo said of the pandemic. "But for now, one crisis at a time, as they say."