Editorial: Hurricane season is here again, and it looks to be a tough one
It feels like hurricane season just ended. But here we are again, facing the start of the 2024 season.
Yes, it comes around every year like clockwork from June 1 to Nov. 30, and, yes, also like clockwork, we urge preparation as the key to getting through the period.
But some things are different this year.
Forecasts that aim to predict the multitude and muscle of tropical cyclones ahead of the season's start date are in unsettling agreement, with some predicting more than double the number of average named storms and one labeling 2024 the “hurricane season from hell,” as The Palm Beach Post's Kimberly Miller reports.
The ingredients for a robust year of storms include a rising La Niña and water temperatures in the runway between Africa and the Gulf of Mexico that are 3.6 to 7 degrees warmer than normal — a buffet of fuel for burgeoning systems.
“I’m looking for some ray of sunshine in this forecast and I don’t see it,” Weather.com senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman told Miss Miller. “This has all the makings of a potentially historic hurricane season.”
Town officials are aware of the pending threat and have moved to do what they can to help residents prepare. A recent alert provided details on a dedicated hurricane page on the town's website. To access the information on the website, go to www.townofpalmbeach.com or contact storm@townofpalmbeach.com.
"Early preparation for hurricanes and any other extreme weather events is crucial in a coastal community like ours due to our heightened vulnerability to such natural disasters," Fire-Rescue department spokesman and Assistant Chief Joseph Sekula told the Daily News.
If you're an old-timer, you've heard all this before and probably have a longstanding plan in place. If you're new to the town — and so many new residents have moved here in the past few years — heed these warnings and make preparations now.
To be ready for the season, residents need to plan ahead. That means preparing emergency kits with medications, food and water etc.; safeguarding important documents; establishing clear communication plans with family and neighbors; and devising possible and flexible evacuation plans, depending where and when a hurricane might threaten.
Folks who live in condominiums need to remember that a state law allows associations to shut off power, elevators, water and sewer once an evacuation order has been issued. The association can’t force residents to leave their homes but they can make conditions difficult for them if they stay. Residents remaining for the storm do so at their own risk.
Some condo residents who chose to stay during Hurricane Dorian in 2019 felt the inconvenience of remaining in their homes under those circumstances.
The town lies in Evacuation Zone B, which includes most of the county's barrier islands east of the Intracoastal Waterway, and along with Zone A, which includes mobile homes and low-lying areas, that are typically the first areas to be evacuated when a major storm approaches.
One important thing that Palm Beach residents need to remember is the need for a town-issued ID to re-enter after a storm has passed. Town police usually restrict access to the island during and after a storm and the ID allows for easy passage. For details on how to get one for you or your staff, visit the town's website at www.townofpalmbeach.com or contact the town's Community Relations Unit at 561-838-5467.
Storms have the potential to change directions quickly — or to rapidly intensify — so we encourage preparation as well as keeping an eye on the weather forecast.
We live in a place that offers lots of sunshine and lovely weather most of the year but the risks posed by hurricanes are real and should never be treated lightly.
Be prepared and stay safe this hurricane season.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Get ready now for what looks like a difficult hurricane season
