Hurricane Season Keeps Meteorologists Busy

Weather experts at AccuWeather in State College and elsewhere have watched a series of major hurricanes pound the United States and the Caribbean this year. 

On average there are 12 named storms form in the Atlantic each year. So far this year, it’s been 13. But the way the rest of the world has been able to witness the devastation caused by the hurricanes has changed, AccuWeather hurricane expert Dan Kottlowski said.

‘We were getting videos, almost live videos, from people that were experiencing these horrible hurricanes,’ Kottlowski said. ‘We’ve never seen so much of that information.’

Public sharing and meteorologists’ use of state-of-the-art technology means more information in real time. With four major hurricanes causing destruction this hurricane season — there were five between 2012 and 2016 — that information can be crucial.

‘It was all hands on deck,’ said AccuWeather senior meteorologist Bob Smerbeck. ‘Just churning out every day, keep it going to protect lives and property. That’s the main thing we do.’

Hurricane season is considered to end on Nov. 30, and Kottlowski said it would not be uncommon to see more tropical storms or hurricanes form before then.

Centre County Report’s Emma Curtis visited AccuWeather headquarters and has more.

This video is produced by and for Centre County Report and shared through a partnership with StateCollege.com.