A forecast team from Colorado State University has predicted an extremely active hurricane season in the Atlantic basin this year.

The CSU Tropical Meteorology Project says there will be 23 named storms, with 11 of those storms developing into hurricanes and five of those reaching major hurricane strength, in the Atlantic this season. Hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30.

The team predicts:

• A 62 percent chance at least one major hurricane will make landfall on the U.S. coastline in 2024 (the long-term average probability is 43 percent).
• A 34 percent chance a major hurricane will make landfall on the U.S. East Coast, including the Florida Peninsula (the long-term average is 21 percent).
• A 42 percent chance a major hurricane will make landfall on the Gulf Coast from the Florida Panhandle west to Brownsville (the long-term average is 27 percent).

The 2023 hurricane season was the fourth-most active Atlantic hurricane season on record, with 20 named storms forming, tied with 1933. Among them, seven became hurricanes, with three reaching major hurricane strength. Clay Electric’s service area was impacted by Hurricane Idalia (a category 3 storm at landfall) in late August. Idalia caused $3.6 billion dollars in damage and resulted in eight direct fatalities.

Florida residents are reminded to take the proper precautions and to remember that it takes only one landfall event nearby to make this an active season.

Clay Electric Cooperative offers lots of information to help its members prepare for the possibility a hurricane may strike North Florida, including a Hurricane Preparedness Guide. Copies of the 2024 Hurricane Preparedness Guide will be available online and at the cooperative’s six district offices in June.