JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The season is about to go into overdrive. You may be thinking it already picked up after 13 storms paced the season to a record early start.
But now we are moving into the part of the year when 75% of all tropical activity typically occurs after Aug. 28.
Recommended Videos
A record number of early named storms already have come months before the average seasonal peak in September.
A record-setting seven U.S. landfalls resulted in a blanket of tropical cyclone warnings or watches along the entire U.S. Atlantic basin mainland except for a stretch along the Florida Gulf Coast.
This area typically becomes more prone to hurricanes during October when cold fronts dip south, steering systems into the west Florida coast.
Fortunately, most of the tropical systems have been weaker storms in spite of Category 4 Hurricane Laura. The other two hurricanes, Isaias and Hanna, had only a narrow swath of minimal Category 1 winds.
The accumulated total tropical cyclone energy and duration, measured by what’s called the ACE Index, is 42.1, which is 55% more than an average by the last day of August.