SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — With the start of hurricane season Less than a month away, U.S. officials who predict, prepare for and respond to natural disasters sent a message to Floridians Friday: It’s not a question of if a hurricane will occur, but when.
The 2024 hurricane season is expected to be busier than average. To make sure people everywhere are prepared, officials visited residents of Sanford, a landlocked city in the middle of the Sunshine State.
Even if they don’t live on the coast, officials told residents, they need to know the potential danger hurricanes pose to their property, such as flooding; and develop an emergency plan that includes a supply kit.
“Everyone in Florida is at risk,” said Michael Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center.
As if to highlight Florida’s vulnerability to adverse weather conditions, wind gusts of 114 km/h (71 mph), just below hurricane strength, were recorded Friday morning in Tallahassee, where shattered metal and other debris from damaged buildings littered parts of the state capital.
Authorities in Sanford brought in two “hurricane hunter” planes used in the daring task of flying into the middle of storms to collect data on their intensity and direction.
The WP-3D, operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the WC-130J, flown by the U.S. Air Force Reserve, fly directly into the eye of the storm, usually three times during one flight. The goal of the hair-raising trips is to gather information that can help local authorities make decisions, such as when to order people to evacuate.
NOAA’s propeller plane typically has 11 to 17 people on board during flights during hurricanes, including crew and scientists. As flights usually last eight hours, crew members bring plenty of snacks, as well as a microwave, refrigerator and electric stove to prepare more elaborate meals.
Although the rides can be very bumpy, sometimes they are not as turbulent as expected and crew members don’t realize they are already in the eye of a hurricane, said William Wysinger, a NOAA flight engineer who has flown a dozen missions. . through hurricanes.
“I liken it to riding an old wooden roller coaster at the worst times,” Wysinger said.
The National Hurricane Center predicts that the upcoming Atlantic and Gulf season, which runs from June 1 to November 30, will exceed the annual average of seven tropical storms and seven hurricanes, and that three of the storms will be severe. Not all hurricanes make landfall.
Floridians would be wise to remember 20 years ago, when four consecutive hurricanes made landfall in just a few weeks, crisscrossing the state and opening up paths of disaster, said David Sharp, meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service in Melbourne, Florida.
“Many remember the devastation of hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne – blue tarps and pink insulation everywhere, along with lives displaced,” Sharp said. “Scars on the earth, but also scars on the psyche of our people.”
Hundreds of thousands of new residents have arrived in Florida since the last hurricane season, and it’s important they know what to expect and how to prepare, said Robbie Berg, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center.
“Talk to your neighbors,” Berg said. “Many people in Florida have experienced these storms and can help you get through a storm if you have never experienced one before.”
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Follow Mike Schneider on X: @MikeSchneiderAP.
