Tropics: Tropical Storm Warning issued from LA to AL/FL Border

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The National Hurricane Center began issuing advisories on Potential Tropical Cyclone Three on Thursday. This system does not yet have a clear center of circulation and, hence, cannot be defined as an official tropical cyclone. However, with high confidence that it will gradually develop and impact the northern Gulf Coast, it is called a “potential tropical cyclone.”

This allows the National Weather Service to issue warnings for areas that will see impacts and for local officials to begin necessary preparations.

PTC Three is expected to become a tropical storm by tonight or Saturday. If so, it would be named Claudette. The First Coast will not be directly impacted, but this system may send some tropical downpours our way by Father’s Day and Monday, especially for inland areas. There is a low risk of strong to severe storms mainly for the Suwannee River Valley and southeast Georgia.

Hurricane season is here and the time to prepare is now. Make sure you have had conversations with your loved ones about what you would do if a storm were to threaten.

This year, NOAA released the new seasonal averages for the Atlantic basin. According to the 30-year data from 1991 to 2020, the new averages include 14 named storms, 7 hurricanes, and 3 major hurricanes. The previous Atlantic storm averages, based on the period from 1981 to 2010, were 12 named storms, 6 hurricanes, and 3 major hurricanes. The averages from 1951-1980 , were 11 named storms, 5 hurricanes and 1 major.

Hurricane safety and preparedness is critically important before the season begins on June 1. NOAA’s National Weather Service provides resources to prepare for hurricane hazards and real-time updates about active weather systems from the National Hurricane Center at www.hurricanes.gov. 

The Atlantic hurricane season officially runs from June 1 to November 30.