As the most seasoned residents of the coastal Carolinas will tell you, surviving a hurricane is a good mix of preparation and luck. In recent years, this portion of the state has experienced its share of brushes with natural disasters, to include 2005’s Hurricane Ophelia, which resulted in more than 250,000 residents of Eastern North Carolina losing electrical power and well over 70 million dollars of damage.
Unfortunately for Carolinians, the worst may be yet to come. Forecasters at North Carolina State University are predicting between 13 and 16 named storms, of which 7 to 9 may become hurricanes. The average Atlantic hurricane season, going back to 1950, has 10 named storms — six of them hurricanes, and two of those major.
The predicted 2011 activity strongly reflects an expected continuation of conditions associated with the multi-decadal signal, which has favored above-normal Atlantic hurricane seasons since 1995. These conditions include considerably warmer than normal sea surface temperatures, lower wind shear, reduced sea level pressure, and a more conducive structure of the African easterly jet. An updated Atlantic hurricane outlook will be issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in early August, which begins the peak months (August-October) of the hurricane season.
For current information relating to local weather conditions, advisories and hurricane information, please call the Camp Lejeune Automated Information System at (910) 451-1717 or refer to your local news media outlet.
For a brochure on hurricane awareness and preparedness aboard MCB Camp Lejeune, please click here to download and print this document.