Federal forecasters and emergency managers are warning residents from Texas to Maine to be prepared for tropical weather.
Monday is the official start to the six-month Atlantic hurricane season.
It’s expected to be slower than an average season, with six to 11 named storms.But that’s no guarantee that a storm won’t make a catastrophic landfall.
This season got off to an early start when Tropical Storm Ana brought heavy rain to the North Carolina coast in early May.
This year, researchers have new tools to study tropical weather.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will continue to try flying drones into hurricanes, and the University of Miami has opened a lab where hurricane conditions are generated in a tank.
Two Tampa-based “hurricane hunter” aircraft also are getting major overhauls.