Atlantic hurricane season News

Florida Insurance Industry Ready for Hurricane Season

Eight hurricane-free years in Florida and a seller’s market in catastrophe bonds have fortified the state against the cost of major storm damage as the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1. “Florida is in its best position in a …

Pacific Ocean Holds Clue to Size of Atlantic Hurricane Season

The Pacific Ocean holds one of the keys that forecasters say will determine how many hurricanes and tropical storms develop in the Atlantic this year. The size of the six-month storm season, which starts tomorrow, may depend on a pool …

South Carolina Residents Can Use Smartphones to Report Storm Damage

The 2014 Atlantic hurricane season begins Sunday, and officials in South Carolina are enlisting the help of the public in gauging storm damage. The Department of Health and Environmental Control has developed programs allowing people to provide photos and other …

Below Average Atlantic Hurricane Season Predicted

Rising heat in the equatorial Pacific Ocean portends the quietest Atlantic hurricane season in five years, Colorado State University researchers said. Nine named storms, with winds of at least 39 miles (63 kilometers) per hour, are expected to develop this …

Quiet Hurricane Season Will Lower Reinsurance Prices

The quietest U.S. Atlantic hurricane season in decades will lead to a low double-digit fall in related catastrophe reinsurance pricing in the key 2014 renewals, according to experts at Fitch Ratings. The ratings agency said industry earnings in 2013 will …

Experts Say Atlantic Hurricane Season Quietest in 45 years

The 2013 Atlantic hurricane season looks set to go down as a big washout, marking the first time in 45 years that the strongest storm to form was just a minor Category 1 hurricane. There could still be a late …

Humberto Becomes Season’s First Hurricane as Gabrielle Stalls

Hurricane Humberto, the season’s first, churned in the Atlantic west of the Cape Verde Islands as Tropical Storm Gabrielle stalled after passing Bermuda. Humberto was declared a Category 1 storm in a 5 a.m. advisory from the U.S. National Hurricane …

Quiet 2013 Hurricane Season a ‘Head Scratcher’ for Embarrassed Forecasters

The 2013 Atlantic hurricane season, which forecasters had predicted would be more active than normal, has turned out to be something of a dud so far as an unusual calm hangs over the tropics. As the season heads into the …

Storm Gabrielle Probably Won’t Strengthen on Caribbean Path

Tropical Storm Gabrielle isn’t expected to gain much strength as it churns in the Caribbean Sea on a path between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Gabrielle was about 65 miles (105 kilometers) west- …

Cat Bonds Rally With Hurricane Season Advancing: Credit Markets

Gains on catastrophe bonds are poised to exceed returns on speculative-grade company debt by the most since 2008 as the Atlantic hurricane season heads into its fourth month. Notes designed to protect insurers from payouts on damage linked to powerful …