Forecasters Say Summer Could Bring Fewer Hurricanes
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- Carlos Barrilia pushes mud from The Lounge bar in the Strand District after it was flood damaged by Hurricane Ike September 19, 2008 in Galveston, Texas.
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- Large waves from Hurricane Irene pound the Ocean City pier, on August 28, 2011 in Ocean City, Maryland.
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- This 25 September, 2004 NOAA satellite image shows Hurricane Jeanne moving over the eastern coast of Florida.
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- Waves are seen crashing around homes as Hurricane Irene arrives on August 28, 2011 in Hampton Bays, New York.
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- US President George W. Bush in Marine One flies over a damaged residential area near Galveston, Texas, while touring Hurricane Ike damage with Texas Governor Rick Perry September 16, 2008.
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- Workers prepare to remove a sailboat washed up onto the edge of the highway into Galveston by Hurricane Ike September 21, 2008 in Galveston, Texas.
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- A street is flooded on Coney Island after Hurricane Irene hit, in New York, August 28, 2011.
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- Residents walk on the beach past a damaged access ramp on Rockway Beach after Hurricane Irene swept through the city, in New York, August 28, 2011.
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- Justin Mudge walks through the muddy interior of his great uncle’s gun shop which was destroyed by flooding caused by Hurricane Irene on September 1, 2011 in Prattsville, NY.
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- A message to the city management is painted on the side of a trailer following Hurricane Ike September 21, 2008 in Galveston, Texas.
The 2012 hurricane season is predicted to be relatively calm in comparison to past years, but meteorologists are still warning residents in coastal areas to take precautions, according to forecasters from Accuweather. The group said today that there is still a possibility of “home-grown” tropical storms in the Gulf of Mexico.
“Fronts coming down during June and July could cause energy to break off and develop tropically,” Paul Pastelok, the lead long-range forecaster for Accuweather, said.
But even slow hurricane seasons can wreak havoc. On August 17,1992, during a relatively slow season, Hurricane Andrew slammed the East Coast, causing more than $26 billion in damage and killing more than 60 people.
“Get a hurricane plan together and get hurricane supplies in order, such as materials to mitigate property damage,” Kottlowski said, an Accuweather.com meteorologist. “Make a family plan for evacuation, including what to bring.”
Hurricane Rita, which hit the Texas coast in September 2005, still holds the record as the largest evacuation in history, displacing an estimated 3 million people.
In the slideshow above, you can see photos from some of the notable hurricanes of recent years.