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Hurricane Season 2023 Ends 12/01 07:10
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- A busy hurricane season that saw the National
Hurricane Center in Miami issue the first-ever tropical storm warning for the
coast of California and hurricane warnings as far north as Nova Scotia came to
a close Thursday night.
The Atlantic basin had 20 named storms -- the fourth-highest total since
1950. They include seven hurricanes, three of which became major hurricanes at
a Category 3 or higher.
"The 2023 hurricane season does show that we can get impacts just about
everywhere," said Michael Brennan, director of the hurricane center. "We had a
tropical storm affect Southern California, Hurricane Idalia make landfall as a
major hurricane along the Florida Gulf Coast, and we had Ophelia affect the
U.S. East Coast all the way up to New England, and we also had effects all the
way up in the Northeast with Hurricane Lee making landfall in Nova Scotia."
There were also multiple hurricane landfalls across Mexico, especially late
in the season, including Hurricane Otis, a Category 5 storm which devastated
Acapulco and killed dozens.
"It was a really busy season," Brennan said.
The high number of named storms is part of a period of active storms dating
back to 2017, he said. This season in particular brought a "continuous period
of activity" in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
But Brennan said there were some positives.
"I think one thing to focus on is we had a major hurricane landfall on the
Gulf Coast of Florida, which is an area that's very vulnerable to storm surge,
and we had no storm surge fatalities," he said.
The marshy area of Florida's west coast where the storm made landfall is
sparsely populated, which helped residents evacuate ahead of the storm.
"That's a success, and we should be proud of that," Brennan said. He added
that the hurricane center's new storm surge warning system and consistent
forecasts played a major role.
A year earlier, a strong storm surge during Hurricane Ian resulted in
multiple deaths and significant destruction across southwest Florida. The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration attributed 156 deaths to Ian,
66 of which the storm directly caused.
Florida's rough 2022 made this hurricane season a source of anxiety for many
residents, including Danielle DeLoach, the general manager at Tropic Shores
Resort in Daytona Beach Shores. She said she's more than relieved hurricane
season is over.
The resort on the Atlantic Ocean lost its seawall and pool deck during
Hurricane Nicole last November, and the building was condemned for about four
weeks after the storm.
"We were fully exposed because we didn't have a seawall," DeLoach said. "I
think everybody here that got damage to their seawalls were scared about this
season."
The resort's seawall has been rebuilt, but they're still working to replace
their pool.
"Even with the king tides and everything else that happens on the Atlantic
Ocean, at least we're protected now," DeLoach said. "Even though we don't have
a pool deck and a pool, at least the seawall is up."
Forecasters at the hurricane center in Miami may take a day or two to
recover, but Brennan said, "The offseason is busy in a different way" as they
prepare for the 2024 season beginning June 1. The team will focus on reports on
every storm that formed in 2023, and they'll begin training and preparedness
activities for next season.
"So it's either hurricane season, or you're getting ready for the next
hurricane season," he said.
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