Hurricane season started June 1, and we are starting to see more tropical development as the summer progresses. The best time to educate yourself on hurricane preparedness is before one is forecast for your area, when you are not under pressure. For every possible tropical development, the NOAA National Hurricane Center (NHC) prepares a graphic of a forecast cone, which illustrates the possibilities of where the storm may go.
Sometimes the cone graphic can be misunderstood when residents are trying to decide the impact of a storm to their area. The NHC has produced an informational video to better explain what the cone means, and what it should and should not be used for. The best use of the cone is to determine where the center of the storm is most likely to go, but that does not mean that storm effects will not be felt outside the cone.
Learn more about the best way to interpret the NHC forecast cone by watching this video.