The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently released its hurricane forecasts in the Atlantic Ocean for the 2024 season. There’s not a ton of good news to go around. Hurricane season in this ocean typically runs from June 1st to November 30th. 2023 was one of the more active years in recent memory. It ranked 4th all-time in number of “named storms” with 20, these are typically named once they reach the category of tropical storm. The projections for 2024 indicate that there could be anywhere from 17 to 25 named storms.
Of course, this does not mean that each of these storms will turn into a hurricane. In fact, those projections drop to anywhere from 8 to 13. It also does not mean that each of these storms will reach land with enough force to cause real damage. However, the NOAA does anticipate that anywhere from 4 to 7 major hurricanes will form this season. If these projections are mildly accurate, there would be more named storms this year than the year before.
Traditionally, the most vulnerable US cities include ports along Mississippi; the city of New Orleans is also on the list of places where these hurricanes in the Atlantic have hit hard before. Many of the largest towns off the coast of Florida are also at risk during hurricane season. Any city that has a beach facing the Gulf of Mexico is typically known to be in the path of some of these hurricanes that form in the Atlantic as well. In most cases, storms that hit the Americas from the Atlantic tend to cause more damage on this side of the world than they do throughout Europe and Africa.
One reason storms have been on the rise in the last few years is the rising water temperatures in the Atlantic, particularly in the Caribbean and the aforementioned coastline along the Gulf of Mexico. While the number of total storms has been on the rise in the last few years, major hurricanes have been somewhat on the decline. Of course, that’s a tough start to digest for places that have been hit hard by storms in the last few years.
Travelers should keep in mind that storms certainly have the power to alter their travel plans. That’s especially the case if they want to head to the beach in the Atlantic throughout July and the following months at the end of the summer. It could be a good idea to only make reservations that you can cancel or alter without cost if this is the time of year when you want to travel. That way, you won’t have to risk going on a trip where you could potentially be stranded at your destination because of a storm. While the numbers don’t necessarily indicate that more severe hurricanes will take place this year, travelers should anticipate more rainy days at some of the popular beach destinations along the East Coast. The projections also include beaches on the East Coast of Mexico and Caribbean destinations.
