In the wake of the deadly Hurricane Isaias, some of the nation’s top weather forecasters are predicting 10 more hurricanes before the season is over.
The Colorado State Department of Atmospheric Science has predicted 24 named storms in 2020. Nine have already formed: Arthur, Bertha, Cristobal, Dolly, Edouard, Fay, Gonzalo, Hanna and Isaias. The latter two have become hurricanes.
“The team predicts that 2020 hurricane activity will be about 190% of the average season,” according to the new forecast. “By comparison, 2019′s hurricane activity was about 120% of the average season.”
A tropical storm becomes a hurricane when its sustained winds reach 74 mph. An average season has 12 tropical storms, six of which are hurricanes.
The report also predicted five of those future hurricanes are predicted to reach major hurricane strength — Category 3, 4 or 5 — with sustained winds of 111 mph or greater. The team also said there’s a 74% chance a major hurricane will hit the U.S. coastline this year.
The last of Isaias churned north out of eastern North Carolina on Tuesday, leaving behind the effects of strong winds, heavy rain and tornadoes from the Triangle to the coast.
Gov. Roy Cooper told "Good Morning America" that Isaias spawned "a number of tornadoes," including one that hit a mobile home park in Bertie County in northeastern North Carolina. County officials said the tornado touched down in the Morning Road area of Windsor.
Cooper said in a Tuesday afternoon news conference that he had spoken to President Donald Trump and updated him on the situation in the state. The president “has pledged help,” Cooper said, adding state officials are in contact with FEMA and other agencies.
Isaias made landfall shortly after 11 p.m. Monday at Ocean Isle Beach and moved through North Carolina. The center of the storm roughly followed the Interstate 95 corridor, dumping large amounts of rain north and west of the center.
Isaias hit North Carolina as a Category 1 hurricane, with top sustained winds of 85 mph and higher gusts. The worst of the wind and rain happened after dark, so the storm’s full impact became clearer after sunrise.
Last weekend, it appeared Isaias would ride up the coast of North Carolina as a hurricane, prompting evacuations of Ocracoke and Hatteras islands on the Outer Banks. But the storm’s more westward track meant most of the North Carolina coast was spared.
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