The 2025 hurricane season starts this weekend. Forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say there’s a sixty percent of an above average number of major storms this year. Up to five named hurricanes are expected during the season. Morgan Barry is a senior meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Mobile. She says one factor this season is more rough weather expected off the western coast of Africa…
“That's kind of the primary starting point for a lot of the Atlantic hurricane seasons,” she said. “So we're usually looking over towards the west Africa region for some of those systems, kind of coming off of Africa. And we'll watch them and Track, track them as they go all the way across the Atlantic.”
NOAA says 2024 was the third-costliest season on record as it spawned killer storms Beryl, Helene and Milton. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on unveiled its outlook for the Atlantic hurricane season that begins June 1 and stretches through the end of November, with a 60% chance it will above normal, 30% chance near normal and just 10% chance it will be quieter than average. NWS Senior forecaster Barry says her team is also watching the Gulf…
“If we just have a wave that kind of moves through portions of the Gulf that could send a lot of extra kind of energy in the Gulf towards our area, which increases our chances for rip current,” she said.
Barry says now is a good time review emergency survival kits. Families should have things like three days of food and water and a flashlight with batteries. Also, inland residents should be on alert for flash flooding and heavy winds that could occur from a coastal hurricane strike along the Alabama coast.
