What you need to know for remainder of hurricane season

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Hurricane Francine is approaching landfall in Louisiana during what has been, compared to previous years, a less active hurricane season. However, there is still a lot of hurricane season left to cover with the next few weeks typically being the busiest. Here are a few important things to keep in mind.

• Historically, September through early October is the most active time of the year for hurricanes in the Atlantic.
• The National Hurricane Center issues storm and forecast updates every six hours at 5 and 11 EDT. However there are exceptions!
• When alerts are posted, the NHC will issue intermediate advisories at 2 and 8 EDT.
• These advisories contain updates on storm strength but do not include forecast updates.
• When a storm is close to landfall, advisories are posted every hour.
• The most deadly part of a hurricane is flooding from storm surge. The next biggest hazard is rain.

A storm’s intensity on the Saffir-Simpson scale is measured by wind, but it’s not an accurate gauge on a storm’s impact. Wind is the most isolated life-threatening hazard in most hurricanes. Storm surge is typically worse on the east side of a storm. Impacts extend beyond the forecast cone. No two storms are the same. Hurricane Gloria in 1985 was the last hurricane to hit New York directly. The maximum winds were 85 mph, and the worst storm surge was nearly 7 feet. Sandy was no longer considered a hurricane because of its colder weather characteristics, and had winds of 85 mph. Although Sandy's landfall was much farther away than Gloria, the storm surge was nearly double, and the wind impact was much more widespread. "