After a decade of relative quiet, Floridians have witnessed two years of active hurricane seasons.
In September 2017, Hurricane Irma impacted nearly all of Florida, causing over $60 billion in damage and leaving more than 7 million Floridians, including more than 24,000 SVEC consumer-members, in the dark.
The 2018 season is predicted to be just as strong and may turn out to be one of the strongest hurricane seasons in 70 years.
Global Weather Oscillations, the producer of one of the most accurate predictions of the 2017 hurricane season, anticipates 2018 will bring 16 named storms, eight hurricanes, four major hurricanes, and the potential for four United States hurricane landfalls. Florida could receive devastating storms with sustained winds over 110 mph.
There are three factors that cause meteorologists to expect a strong hurricane season. Warmer-than-normal water temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean, favorable upper-level winds over Bermuda, and the weakening of El Nino patterns, which typically lead to stronger hurricane seasons.
This year’s abnormally high prediction means you and your family must effectively prepare for the 2018 hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30. In addition to extensive planning and preparation ahead of this year’s hurricane sea- son, SVEC, in coordination with Seminole Electric Cooperative, created a hurricane guide to assist in your emergency planning. This guide includes information such as tips for reporting an outage, generator safety information, helpful links, phone numbers and more.
It is easy to forget just how damaging these storms can be. Don’t wait to form your plan for the 2018 hurricane season. Download our Hurricane Guide (PDF) or pick one up in our office lobby today.