Cancun, Q.R. — With a little less than six weeks until the beginning of the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season, Civil Protection agents are already setting out to inspect potential emergency shelters.
Civil Protection agents have begun inspections in Puerto Morelos, verifying the emergency shelters are safe to use for the 2018 season. The Secretariats of the National Defense says they will likely increase the number of emergency shelters this year.
Other regions including Cancun and Riviera Maya will also soon begin inspecting ear-marked emergency shelters such as churches, union buildings and schools.
According to Colorado State University Tropical Meteorology Project, scientists are calling for a total of 14 named storms this year, seven of which are expected to become hurricanes and three of which, will be major hurricanes.
The university says this is slightly above the 30-year average which is 12 named storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes.
Forecasters are warning that after last year’s disastrous hurricane season that included storms like Harvey, Irma and Maria, the U.S. probably won’t see much of a hurricane reprieve this year. While the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season is predicted to actively be above average, forecasters are saying it will still be less than last year.
Earlier in the spring, Global Weather Oscillations predicted the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season to be comparable to last year, which ended with 17 named storms and 10 hurricanes, six of which were considered major.
Dr. Phil Klotzbach of the university notes the current water temperatures across the North Atlantic basin show cooler-than-average water temperatures in the far North Atlantic and in the eastern tropical Atlantic and warmer-than-average water temperatures off the East Coast of the U.S.
Since early March, there has been slight anomalous warming across the eastern and central tropical Atlantic, Klotzbach adds. It remains a big question of what water temperatures will be in the North Atlantic during the peak of hurricane season.
According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the 2018 list of named storms for the Atlantic Basin are Alberto, Beryl, Chris, Debby, Ernesto, Florence, Gordon, Helene, Issac, Joyce, Kirk, Leslie, Michael, Nadine, Oscar, Patty, Raphael, Sarah, Toney, Valerie and William.
Last year, the hurricane season for Cancun and Riviera Maya came to a peaceful end with less than a handful of storms and a few near-misses.