Today officially marks the last day of the 2023 hurricane season. While 14 named storms are considered an average season, State Climatologist Barry Keim says the season ended with 20 named storms and the signature storm – Hurricane Idalia.
“It made landfall near Cedar Key Florida as a category three storm. It’s an area that doesn’t get hit pretty often by major storms. And it came in with about a 12-foot storm surge and some very high winds and the damage was pretty spectacular.”
NOAA predicted a near to below to average season of 12 to 17 named storms. Out of the 20 named storms, seven developed into hurricanes and three became major hurricanes.
Despite early predictions, Keim says this season is tied for the fourth most active season we have on record. Overall, he says storm tracking was away from the Bayou State which kept it relatively quiet and dry.
“We certainly had more than our fair share in 2020 and 2021. The blessing for this particular season was this big dome of high pressure created very stable conditions. In fact, it was the summer from hell here because of that.”
Keim says we could still possibly get storms in December and January. He says Louisiana is in a swing season period with a strong El Nino but hopes for more rain to help the drought.
“But normally during an El Nino fall, winter, and spring, it tends to get wetter than normal. So the hope is that we’re going to get a big shift in the circulation pattern and that will bring some rain to the area and try to put this drought to bed.”
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