Hurricane Forecasting

On "The Florida Roundup," the former branch chief of the National Hurricane Center's Hurricane Specialist Unit described how cuts could lead to poorer forecasts and increased response needs.

This week on The Florida Roundup, we looked at how federal funding cuts and job losses could impact weather forecasting and hurricane preparedness in Florida and more.

Conference attendees heard from emergency management leaders across Florida and beyond.

The Trump administration is targeting top climate and weather labs for cuts. Insiders worry about the impact on research and NOAA's ability to forecast severe weather like hurricanes and tornadoes.

Warm temperatures, low winds, less Saharan dust and mid-level moisture will all help to form more storms, scientists at the Climate Adaptation Center said.

Fired researcher Andy Hazelton grew up in Plant City and Lakeland, and said working for NOAA had been a lifelong goal. While a new federal employee, he’d worked for NOAA for eight years.

Homes, cars and streets were flooded with rainwater for days — and even weeks — after Hurricane Milton, which overwhelmed stormwater systems.

It has been an unusually active final month for the hurricane season, when forecasters typically see a single named storm every year or two. And the 2024 season still has two weeks to go.

They added two named storms and a major hurricane to their outlook, primarily because of near-record warm Atlantic and Caribbean waters and a lack of strong vertical wind shear.

A saildrone, SD-1041, deployed to intercept Hurricane Beryl sent back photos, video and data from the major storm on Tuesday. As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, Hurricane Beryl was 422.5 miles ESE of Kingston, Jamaica. The hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 155 mph.

Meteorologists stress considerable uncertainty remains in such long-range forecasts but that they also reflect a sign of evolving science and constantly improving understanding of tropical weather systems.

It’s only February, but sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean are already hitting early summer levels, a worrying trend that could indicate an active hurricane season ahead — or another marine heat wave.