Tropics: Tropical Storm Claudette becomes our third named storm of 2021

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The National Hurricane Center has upgraded our tropical disturbance along the gulf coast to a Tropical Storm Saturday morning.  This makes it the third named storm system of 2021. Despite it being officially named the forecast has changed very little especially for the First Coast. 

IMPACTS: The key thing is to note pay too close attention to the centerline of the forecast from the NHC and instead look east of the track where the bulk of the convection is. This is across Mississippi and Alabama where the heaviest rain will be.  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.

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