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Royal Caribbean provides update as storm risk decreases

Posted on by Pranco
Royal Caribbean provides update as storm risk decreases

This year’s hurricane season was devastating and devastating to Florida, the Gulf Coast and cruise itineraries. But it looks like it’s finally over.

Royal Caribbean Chief Meteorologist Craig Setzer has shared a positive outlook for cruises from US ports, highlighting that hurricane landfalls in the US are likely to decline as cooler temperatures begin to settle.

“Although another named system could form somewhere in the Atlantic basin in the coming weeks, the chances of another destructive hurricane landfall in Florida decrease every day as we approach November,” he declared.

“As far as the US is concerned, we are entering the final days of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season,” he continued.

Hurricane season officially runs from June 1 to November 30 each year, with hurricanes typically occurring during the peak months of August, September, and October, when ocean temperatures are warmest and conditions for storm development are most favorable.

“Water temperatures (which are falling) are barely warm enough to support a hurricane in the Gulf, and wind shear remains largely high over the state,” Setzer added.

Also read: How a Hurricane Can Affect Your Cruise

However, that does not mean that the Caribbean is off the map yet. Since most U.S. flights depart from the Gulf of Mexico and Florida to warm-weather islands, especially those in the eastern Caribbean regions with warmer sea surface temperatures, Setzer notes that storms are not impossible.

“Models continue to suggest that tropical development is possible in the Caribbean over the next ten days, and people on the islands should keep an eye on this area,” he said. “Wind shear is expected to remain low and the water there will remain very warm.”

Still, the meteorologist notes that any storms that develop in the Caribbean would not be able to maintain their strength by the time they reach the Gulf of Mexico.

“If something were to form and move north from the Caribbean, it would likely be deflected eastward and inhabited by amplification, thanks to shear,” Setzer said.

Potential storm is unlikely to be a threat

As the Atlantic hurricane season draws to a close, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) has released a new update on possible storm activity in the Caribbean Sea.

According to the latter Tropical weather forecast on October 30, 2024, a broad area of ​​low pressure is expected to develop in the southwestern Caribbean near Jamaica and the Cayman Islands by the end of the week.

While conditions in the region remain favorable for gradual storm development, the NHC predicts only a small chance of any significant formation within the next 48 hours.

Forecasters indicate a 40 percent chance that a tropical depression could form in the coming week. That system is likely moving slowly north toward the central or western Caribbean.

Potential Caribbean stormPotential Caribbean storm
Potential Caribbean storm (Credit: NOAA)

But after Florida witnessed not one but two deadly storms that forced port closures and cruise delays and cancellations, the thought of a storm can still cause anxiety. Meteorologists remind us that both hurricanes were caused by unusually warm water in the Gulf of Mexico.

Hurricane Helenewhich formed off Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula in late September, strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane as it made landfall along the Sunshine State’s Gulf Coast near Pensacola.

The storm brought heavy rain and damaging winds, closing ports across the state, including Jacksonville, Key West and Port Canaveral.

Following right behind that storm, Hurricane Milton developed in early October and made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, on October 9 as a Category 3 storm. Once again, ports across the state, including Tampa, were closed.

But as the calendar shifts to November, cruise guests can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the end is near and things will go smoothly from here.