Marines


Hurricane Awareness & Preparedness

As the most seasoned residents of the coastal Carolinas will tell you, surviving a hurricane is a good mix of preparation and luck. In the last decade, this portion of the state has experienced its share of brushes with natural disasters, to include 2011’s Hurricane Irene, where over 1,100 homes were destroyed and over 14 inches of rain fell resulting in significant flooding in some areas across the region, and 2018’s Hurricane Florence, where over 30+ inches of rain fell across 14,000 square miles dumping an estimated 10 trillion gallons of water across the area resulting in over 74,500 homes being damaged due to flooding.

Unfortunately for Carolinians, the worst may be yet to come.  In its 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center is forecasting an above-normal and active season this year.

For the six-month hurricane season, which begins June 1, NOAA’s Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook forecasts 13 to 19 named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher), of which 6 to 10 could become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including 3 to 6 major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5; winds of 111 mph or higher). NOAA provides these ranges with a 70% confidence.

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These ranges are well above the seasonal average of 12 named storms, 6 hurricanes and 3 major hurricanes.

NOAA’s Seasonal Hurricane Outlook is not a hurricane landfall forecast; it does not predict how many storms will hit land or where a storm will strike. Forecasts for individual storms and their impacts will be provided throughout the season by NOAA’s National Hurricane Center.

For current information relating to local weather conditions, advisories and hurricane information, please call the Camp Lejeune Automated Information System at (910) 451-1717 or refer to your local news media outlet.

For a brochure on hurricane awareness and preparedness aboard MCB Camp Lejeune, please click here to download and print this document.