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Tag: Hurricane Season 2023

  • Hurricane Lee now a major Category 5 storm. Here’s what to know about the “powerful major hurricane.”

    Hurricane Lee now a major Category 5 storm. Here’s what to know about the “powerful major hurricane.”

    Hurricane Lee, now a powerful Category 5 storm churning in the Atlantic, is expected to continue strengthening Friday as it makes its way west, the National Hurricane Center says.

    While the storm’s intensity could fluctuate in the coming days, “Lee is expected to remain a major hurricane through early next week,” the center said late Thursday night.

    Large ocean swells generated by Lee are expected to reach the Lesser Antilles by Friday, and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Turks and Caicos Islands and Hispaniola by the weekend, the hurricane center said.

    “These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions,” the agency reported. 

    However, Lee’s center is forecast to pass “well to the north” of those islands, the agency added.   

    As of 11 p.m. ET on Thursday, Lee had maximum sustained winds of 160 mph. Its center was about 705 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands, and it was traveling west-northwest at 14 mph over the Atlantic Ocean.

    The long-term track for Lee remains unclear as meteorologists continue monitoring the storm for signs it could shift over the open ocean and turn more toward the mainland U.S. coast, with questions circulating about the potential path it could take. 

    “Even as we head into Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday it does weaken, that’s good news as it heads towards the U.S.,” CBS News senior weather and climate producer David Parkinson said Friday night.

    Parkinson laid out a few possible scenarios for Lee. One would involve a cold front coming off the East Coast that could trap Lee and push it north against the coastline, bringing potentially stormy weather to areas along the coast.

    However, if no cold front were to form, Parkinson explained that Lee would then potentially stay out at sea for a longer period until it were to reach Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada. By that point, it may be significantly weakened.

    As meteorologists predicted, Lee has gained strength quickly. Early Wednesday, Lee’s center was packing maximum sustained winds of 65 mph — a pickup of 15 mph in mere hours. It then grew into a hurricane, which happens when a storm’s maximum sustained wind speeds reach 74 mph, according to the Saffir-Simpson scale.

    Once wind speeds exceed 95 mph, it was upgraded to Category 2, and when maximum sustained winds reached 111 mph, it became a major Category 3 storm. A Category 4 has winds of 130 to 156 mph, and Category 5 hits 157 mph or higher. 

    Meteorologists consider storms that fall within Category 3, 4, or 5 on the ranking scale to be “major” hurricanes, due to their potential to cause “significant loss of life and damage,” the National Hurricane Center says.

    Officials have not yet issued any storm or hurricane watches or warnings for places that could potentially be in Lee’s path. 

    This comes just days after Hurricane Idalia left a path of destruction across the Southeast. 

    That storm made landfall Wednesday in Florida, where it razed homes and downed power poles. It then headed northeast, slamming Georgia, flooding many of South Carolina’s beachfronts and sending seawater into the streets of downtown Charleston. In North Carolina, it poured more than 9 inches of rain on Whiteville, flooding downtown buildings.

    Idalia claimed at least two lives, one in Florida and the other in Georgia. 

    Idalia’s impact from damage and lost economic activity is expected to be in the $12 to $20 billion range, according to Moody’s Analytics.

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  • Hurricanes and tropical storms are damaging homes. Here’s how to deal with your insurance company.

    Hurricanes and tropical storms are damaging homes. Here’s how to deal with your insurance company.

    For many people whose homes are battered by a hurricane or tropical storm, the trauma is soon followed by another major source of stress: dealing with their insurance company to file a claim.

    The U.S. suffered 20 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in 2021, with a total cost of $145 billion, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Individual homeowners whose properties are hit by a hurricane can suffer tens of thousands of dollars in damage, or even more, depending on the severity of the storm. 

    And the remnants of Tropical Storm Hilary delivered record-breaking rainfall to Southern California this week, flooding roads and causing mudslides, and could also cause flooding in Oregon and Idaho.

    Knowing the basics about homeowners insurance and filing a claim can help avoid some pitfalls if disaster strikes. For instance, such insurance will typically cover damage from strong winds, but some policies don’t cover windstorms. Typically, property owners will have a separate deductible for hurricanes, so it pays to check what your policy covers — and, equally important, what it doesn’t — before a storm hits, experts say. 

    “It’s smart to look it over when you renew,” Vince Perri, founder and CEO of Elite Resolutions and a public insurance adjuster, told CBS MoneyWatch.

     Here’s what to know about hurricane insurance and how to deal with your insurer after a disaster.

    Check your hurricane deductible  

    Hurricane deductibles typically amount to between 2% and 10% of the total value of your home. But in hurricane-prone regions like Florida, where Perri is based, he recommends getting a lower deductible because of the risk of facing high out-of-pocket costs in a disaster.

    “Someone sent me a policy to review and he was going to go with 10% — I told him, ‘Don’t do that, because unfortunately we get hurricanes all the time’,” he said.

    For instance, a home worth $400,000 with a 10% deductible could face out-of-pocket costs of $40,000 if the property were wiped out. Going with a lower deductible may reduce incremental costs, but lead to financial disaster in case of serious damage. 

    “You want a 2% deductible when it comes to hurricanes,” Perri advised.

    Document your home before the storm

    Once a year, homeowners should walk around their property and take photos to document their home’s condition, Perri recommended. Taking this step will help you after a storm because you’ll be able to demonstrate to your insurer that the damage was actually caused by the hurricane. 

    “If there is a storm, the insurance company may want to say the damage they are seeing is not as a result of the hurricane but is pre-existing,” he noted. “If you have proof, that could help you tremendously.”

    Take photos immediately after a hurricane

    After a storm, take photos of the damage as quickly as possible to document the immediate aftermath of the hurricane. Under a provision in homeowners insurance called “Duties After Loss,” this is typically part of a homeowner’s responsibility after a disaster.

    Other steps you’ll need to take under this clause may include filing a claim promptly, protecting the property from further damage and authorizing the insurance company to inspect your property. Check your policy to make sure you understand your duties in case of a storm.

    File your claim quickly — and follow up

    Some insurance policies require you to file your claim in a timely manner, but most homeowners are likely going to want to file as soon as possible in order to expedite payment. To that end, make sure to follow up with your insurance company at least every seven days after filing a claim, Perri recommends. 

    After a hurricane or other disaster, “They have got hundreds of thousands of insurance claims, so if you don’t follow up, you could get forgotten,” he added. “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.”

    You don’t have to accept your insurance company’s first offer

    An insurer will either deny a claim, or accept it and make a payment — but it might not be an amount that you believe is enough to repair the damage to your home. In that case, you can file an appeal. 

    To do that, you can ask for estimates from contractors and submit those as proof the proposed payment is too low, or hire a public insurance adjuster who works for you, the homeowner, rather than the insurance company. Public insurance adjusters generally charge a fee of between 5% and 20% of the insurance claim.

    “Hire somebody that puts these estimates together that you can use to appeal,” Perri said.

    If you use a contractor, make sure the estimate is extremely detailed, down to the number of coats of paint they will use to restore your house to its former state, he advised. “Documentation is king,” Perri added.

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  • Tropical Storm Bret expected to strengthen into hurricane as another

    Tropical Storm Bret expected to strengthen into hurricane as another

    The National Hurricane Center is monitoring two systems in the Atlantic Ocean that could develop into more severe storms. One of the systems, Tropical Storm Bret, is expected to soon become the first hurricane of the 2023 Atlantic season, while another will likely become a tropical depression. 

    Bret, currently a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, is expected to strengthen in the coming days. 

    “Bret could become a hurricane in a couple of days,” the National Hurricane Center said in its update on Tuesday morning. If that does happen, Bret — which is currently the second named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season — would be the first named hurricane of the season. 

    The storm is expected to approach the Lesser Antilles islands “by late this week,” the national forecasting service said. The Lesser Antilles are comprised of numerous island nations and territories, including the U.S. Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, and Trinidad and Tobago, among others. 

    “Bret is forecast to initially strengthen and then move across the Lesser Antilles near hurricane intensity on Thursday and Friday, bringing a risk of flooding from heavy rainfall, strong winds, and dangerous storm surge and waves,” the National Hurricane Center said Tuesday morning. “Given the larger than usual uncertainty in the track forecast, it is too early to specify the location and magnitude of where these hazards could occur. However, everyone in the Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands should closely monitor updates to the forecast for Bret and have their hurricane plan in place.”

    screen-shot-2023-06-20-at-8-54-40-am.png
    The forecast for Tropical Storm Bret as of early Tuesday morning shows the system developing into a hurricane between Wednesday and Thursday. 

    NOAA/National Hurricane Center


    The second system, dubbed AL93, is a tropical wave “several hundred miles” away from the Cabo Verde Islands. The National Hurricane Center said Tuesday morning that conditions surrounding that system appear as though a “tropical depressional will likely form during the next couple of days.” As of 8 a.m. ET, there’s a 70% chance of that happening within 48 hours. 

    According to NOAA, tropical waves are when long areas of relatively low pressure move east to west across the tropics. These systems can lead to tropical cyclones. It becomes a tropical cyclone when maximum sustained winds hit 38 mph. 

    Weather Channel Meteorologist Stephanie Abrams told “CBS Mornings” on Tuesday that Bret is a “unique” storm. 

    “We usually don’t get our second named storm until mid-July. Also, it formed far out in the Atlantic, where storms usually get their start much later,” she said. “And the first hurricane of the season doesn’t typically happen until August.” 

    Last year’s first named hurricane, Danielle, didn’t form until September. 

    The reason for this early start is two-fold, Abrams said – low shear and warm waters. Both of these factors have become more present this year with El Niño’s return.

    “Things can change quickly so the time to prepare is now,” she said. 

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  • Tropical Storm Bret forms in Atlantic Ocean

    Tropical Storm Bret forms in Atlantic Ocean

    Atlantic hurricane season officially begins


    What meteorologists are tracking as Atlantic hurricane season officially begins

    06:37

    Tropical Storm Bret formed in the Atlantic Ocean on Monday, making it the second named storm of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

    The storm had 40 mph sustained winds at 11 p.m., ET, and was tracking west at 18 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. Forecasters said the storm could strengthen into a hurricane in the next few days. 

    While it is too early to precisely forecast the storm’s path, forecasters said people in the Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands should continue to monitor the forecast.

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  • Tropical storm could form off Florida coast on 1st day of 2023 hurricane season, forecasters say

    Tropical storm could form off Florida coast on 1st day of 2023 hurricane season, forecasters say

    Florida properties face looming flood risk


    Millions of low-income Florida residents at risk of major insurance coverage gap

    07:09

    A tropical storm could form off the coast of Florida on Thursday, the first official day of the Atlantic hurricane season, NOAA forecasters said. If winds reach 39 miles per hour, it would be the first named storm of the season. 

    The system, currently dubbed Invest 91L, started off as just a tropical disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico late Wednesday night, with only a 20% chance of becoming a cyclone within 48 hours. But by early Thursday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center said it could become a tropical storm, with a 70% chance of development. 

    “Recent satellite wind data, along with buoy and ship observations indicate the area of low pressure over the northeastern Gulf of Mexico has a broad but well-defined circulation with maximum sustained winds of about 35 mph,” the agency said Thursday afternoon.

    The system is also showing thunderstorm activity, the agency said, and conditions are showing to be “favorable” for the system to continue to develop. 

    “If these trends continue, a short-lived tropical depression or storm is likely to form as soon as this afternoon,” the National Hurricane Center said, adding that it’s likely to “meander” over the Gulf through the night but may turn south on Friday. It’s not expected to strengthen through the weekend and will “likely” remain offshore. 

    A Hurricane Hunter aircraft was expected to investigate the system further Thursday afternoon. If it grows to become classified as a tropical storm, it will be the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season: Arlene.

    Forecasters predict 2023 will see a “near normal” season, with at least 12 named storms. 

    Li Cohen


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    Li Cohen is a social media producer and trending content writer for CBS News.

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