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Hurricane season has begun

Posted at 5:42 PM, Jun 01, 2016
and last updated 2016-06-01 17:57:08-04

RICHMOND, Va. — Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30.  This marks the period of the year where the majority of tropical systems occur.  However, in certain cases like this year, Alex formed in January and Bonnie formed in late May.

Last year, a strong El Nino suppressed a lot of tropical activity and the 2015 tropical season was below normal.  This year, with no strong El Nino present, it looks like it will be a normal Atlantic season.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released their tropical forecast for this season.  These types of outlooks only forecast the number of storms, not the number that will hit or affect the United States.

In June, the areas that generally produce tropical activity are the Gulf of Mexico, the western Caribbean and in the western Atlantic from Florida to past the Bahamas.  Bonnie formed just east of the Bahamas in late May.

Tropical activity peaks in early September when ocean temperatures and other atmospheric conditions are ideal.