Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Canadians value accurate and timely information when hurricanes threaten our lands and waters. Environment and Climate Change Canada’s meteorologists and scientists work around the clock, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, to provide accurate forecasts to help citizens and weather-sensitive businesses and industry to be prepared when a tropical cyclone is on its way.
This morning, the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season outlook, which predicts hurricane activity in the North Atlantic Ocean this year will be above normal. NOAA predicts 13 to 20 named storms, 6 to 10 hurricanes, and 3 to 5 major hurricanes. The outlook is a general guide to the expected overall activity during the upcoming hurricane season. Shortly after NOAA released its outlook, the Canadian Hurricane Centre put it into context for Canadians, so they have an idea of what to expect this hurricane season and how to prepare accordingly.
On average, the Canadian Hurricane Centre responds to three or four tropical cyclone events each year, with one or two of those affecting Canadian soil, and another two or three threatening offshore waters, regardless of the number of storms forecast for the entire Atlantic basin.
The Canadian Hurricane Centre encourages Canadians to be weather aware this hurricane season by following the Centre’s hurricane bulletins online or through local media, and to prepare early by assembling emergency kits and readying their homes and properties.
The season officially runs from June 1 to November 30, when the waters of the Atlantic Ocean are warm enough to support tropical cyclones. Typically, hurricanes are of greater concern in Canadian waters later in the season; however, the Canadian Hurricane Centre monitors the Atlantic Ocean year‑round for any tropical or tropical‑like cyclones that could pose a threat to Canada or its waters.
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