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Hurricane season begins June 1: What do you need in your emergency kit?

Preparing during the coronavirus pandemic means you'll need a few extra supplies this season.

10 Tampa Bay

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Published: 11:37 PM EDT May 31, 2020
Updated: 11:51 PM EDT May 31, 2020

Busy. That's how meteorologists expect the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season to be.

It's the last thing coastal communities need as the United States tries to navigate isolated violence and a global pandemic. But, weather doesn't wait. Hurricane season begins on June 1.

The National Hurricane Center is already monitoring the possibility of tropical development in the gulf later this week. Already on Sunday, meteorologists were tracking a disturbance with a 50 percent chance of developing in the next 48 hours and a 60 percent chance of becoming more organized in the next five days.

Two named storms appeared before the season even began: Tropical Storm Arthur and Tropical Storm Bertha. Arthur lightly brushed by the coast of North Carolina, while Bertha brought heavy rain when it made landfall near Charleston, South Carolina.

And, those storms are likely only the beginning.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting 13-19 named storms, 6-10 hurricanes and 3-6 major hurricanes this season. The agency anticipates a 60-percent chance of an above-normal season.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. 

The 2019 Atlantic hurricane season saw six hurricanes, three major hurricanes, including Hurricane Dorian, and 18 named storms. 

If you look back through history, tropical systems can and have formed (at some point) every month of the year. According to NOAA data from 1851 to 2018, February and March have had the fewest tropical storms with one apiece. September has had the most with 616.

The peak of hurricane season is September 10.

Credit: 10 Tampa Bay

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