(The Center Square) – Coastline states of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina may be poised to miss a major hurricane.
The National Hurricane Center, an arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, on Thursday morning was sporting a cone of probability map showing a turn to the north this weekend into Tuesday for Tropical Storm Erin. At 11 a.m. Eastern, the storm was forecast to be a hurricane by Friday, packed maximum sustained winds of 60 mph, was 890 miles east of the Northern Leeward Islands, and was moving west at 17 mph.
In its key message, the Hurricane Center said, “While there is still uncertainty in what impacts might occur in portions of the Bahamas, the East Coast of the United States, and Bermuda next week, the risk of dangerous surf and rip currents across the western Atlantic basin next week is increasing. As we approach the climatological peak of the hurricane season, this is an opportune time to ensure your preparedness plans are in place.”
The Atlantic hurricane season opened June 1 and runs to Nov. 30. Average formation date for the season’s first is Aug. 11.
Last year, three hurricanes in 66 days landed in Florida. The season’s worst damage was from one of them, Helene, that landed near Dekle Beach, Fla., on Sept. 26 and traveled into western North Carolina on Sept. 27. Helene was Category 4 upon landfall with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph.
The Tarheel State is in its 46th week of recovery from the storm that killed 107 and did an estimated $60 billion damage. Across seven states, Helene killed 236.
