It’s almost enough to make you scream.
Seems these days – thanks mostly to the media and the various forms of social media – that everybody is a tropical storm expert.
Trouble is, an amazing few are.
The call being cried now involves a subtropical storm that could be the 2023 season’s first named storm, an April 2017 tropical storm that meandered through the central Atlantic.
Now that the National Hurricane Center has announced an average season, the “experts” have come out of the woodwork and flooded the internet.
The NHC is said on Friday that the storm should either enter the states around the NC/SC line, or head slowly off the coast. It’s supposed to bring high winds, beach erosions and lots of rain to our region.
While our neck of the woods is way overdo for something major, this storm isn’t it.
But to read what people have to say on social media, this is going to be the end of the world.
“Hide your boat, lock down everything outside, run for your life.”
Hogwash.
The NHC announced on Thursday “a near average” season – 12 to 17 named storms, 5 to 9 hurricanes and 1 to 4 major hurricanes. The Colorado State University prediction is slightly less.
Here’s a minor on how this works.
Officials at the NHC and military use forecast models such as the European and U.S. models. These two, and dozens or others, run hundreds of models each day using a multitude of weather information.
Trouble is, some take to a particular one and bet their life on it.
Interesting, but possibly a huge mistake.
If one message – an annual one – was clear is that boat owners and others in the region need to have a solid plan at the ready for anything serious.
To know what the best chances are, follow the NHC’s updates – which have improved greatly over the last few years.
Hey, we’re going to get high winds and potentially heavy rains. Not a fantastic prediction for the holiday weekend. Nor’ Easterly winds could cause some flooding in areas like Norfolk. Seas could be ridiculously high and will ruin fishing for a while.
But this is not the end of the world – not yet at least.
We are overdo for a big one, so have your plans ready if it comes.
To read more of my writing, go to: leetolliveroutdoors.com
