On May 24, the National Weather Service issued its 2012 Hurricane Season Outlook. The season officially begins June 1, so this week is Hurricane Preparedness Week. You don’t have to live on the beach to feel the impact of some hazards associated with hurricanes.
High winds, heavy rainfall, inland flooding and tornadoes can affect communities well inland from landfall. In 2008, Hurricane Ike made U.S. landfall in Galveston, TX and tracked inland, causing damage in several states before dumping record amounts of rain in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. The remnants combined with a cold front crossing the Ohio Valley and resulted in extremely strong surface winds. Hurricane-force winds were reported in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. In 2004, Hurricane Ivan caused an outbreak of 117 tornadoes, including 37 in Virginia, 25 in Georgia, 18 in Florida, 9 Pennsylvania, 8 in Alabama, 7 in South Carolina, 4 in both Maryland and North Carolina, 3 in West Virginia and 2 in Maryland. Several hurricanes in the past 30 years have resulted in inland flooding and deaths due to flooding.
The 2012 outlook says we’ll see a near-normal season. The seasonal average is 12 named storms, six hurricanes, and three major hurricanes. Tom Priddy, Extension Agricultural Meteorologist for University of Kentucky has created a weather dashboard that will help us keep informed during this season and throughout the year. Even if you think your state will not suffer the ill effects of a hurricane, the Next 48 Dashboard is something you can use.
He will demonstrate the weather dashboard via Adobe Connect June 5 at 11:30 a.m. Eastern. To join, go to https://gomeet.itap.purdue.edu/eden2012/
Learn what resources are available from EDEN and what delegates have done in the past to help communities prepare and recover from hurricanes by visiting the Hurricane Topic Page.
Are you ready for hurricane season?
