First named storm of hurricane season likely to develop today

As if we didn’t already have a ton of challenges on our plate when it comes to trying to get back to planning travel over the next few months, there’s now the added threat of potential hurricanes to contend with.

And it looks like today could be the true beginning of hurricane season.

The official beginning of hurricane season does not begin until June 1. However, there is a storm, located  near the northwestern Bahamas, that will likely develop into a named storm today.

If that is the case, this would be the sixth year in a row that a storm will have formed before the start of hurricane season on June 1.

If the storm is to form into a named storm, it looks like the forecast models predict that it will stay just off the southeastern coast and then eventually head out farther into the Atlantic.

This could still present some dangerous surf conditions and riptides along portions of the Southeast US coast this weekend or early next week.

Hurricane season could seriously complicate efforts to combat the coronavirus.

All it takes is one major storm to displace thousands of people and to destroy thousands of homes.

In many cases, people initially seek out large shelters where they are forced to mingle very close to each other for at least a couple of days while they figure out their next move. 

Those closed off environments could be potential breeding grounds for spreading viruses. And then once those individuals are relocated to other places such as family member homes there is the potential for them to spread those germs to those places.

I’m sure emergency centers are considering the huge risk here when it comes to shelters and hopefully they will be able to implement effective policies to prevent this type of thing from happening. 

The other major complication is when it comes to stocking up on necessities at the stores like grocery stores. Many grocery stores are already operating with limited amounts of customers allowed causing long lines to develop outside. 

If a large storm were predicted to come through a big city like New Orleans or Houston, grocery stores could be seriously overwhelmed on a level not seen before.

Ultimately, a dangerous hurricane presents a more immediate danger than potentially catching a virus so hurricane related precautions should be prioritized over things like social distancing. But I think there should still be some level of thought and effort that goes into preventing mass spread of viruses in situations like this.

By the way, here are all of the names for storms in 2020’s hurricane season:

• Arthur
• Bertha
• Cristobal
• Dolly
• Edouard
• Fay
• Gonzalo
• Hanna
• Isaias
• Josephine
• Kyle
• Laura
• Marco
• Nana
• Omar
• Paulette
• Rene
• Sally
• Teddy
• Vicky
• Wilfred

H/T: CNN