TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Meteorologists are tracking a growing concern each hurricane season: how quickly storms intensify, sometimes just hours before landfall.
Rapid intensification occurs when a storm’s wind speed increases 30 knots, about 35 mph, in 24 hours, according to the National Hurricane Center. That is like watching a high-end Category 1 storm, with winds of 95 mph, reach Category 4 strength, with winds of 130 mph, in 24 hours.
Research shows that trends like this are becoming more common.
“There’s been more cases of rapid strengthening over the past decade compared to previous decades,” said Dan Brown, branch chief hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center. “Getting the prediction of rapid strengthening correct, it’s really key for emergency managers to be able to evacuate the right people at the right time.”
Meteorologists and emergency managers know the importance of getting warnings out as soon as possible and preparing for the worst-case scenario.
Kelly Godsey, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Tallahassee, said residents should be aware of what the forecast intensity is, but always prepare for one category higher.
“What we always want folks to do when we have a hurricane approaching is to be aware of not only what the forecast intensity is at landfall, but always prepare for one category higher,” Godsey said.
Emergency managers, like Dr. Danny Glover, who is the Emergency Management Director in Taylor County, are prepared to handle the next storm if the community has to battle it again. One way is to prepare for a worst-case scenario
“If it says it’s a minor storm coming in, but we actually get something a lot worse, that we’re prepared to take care of our community and our people.”
Significant impacts are not just coastal. The Big Bend and South Georgia have faced plenty of impacts from storms.
“Our whole community realizes that when we are getting a hurricane, that it can affect the beach, says Glover. “You may live, you know, twenty, thirty miles inland, but you can still see a lot of damage.”
Even if the tropics are not as active as in previous years, it only takes one storm to devastate a community. Hurricane season is approaching. Storms are getting stronger, faster. The next storm will be different. Hurricane season begins on June 1 and runs through November 30.
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