Hurricane season is almost here, and so is AccuWeather's Hurricane TV Special

Lauren Fox
·3 min read

With the official start of the Atlantic basin hurricane season days from getting underway, the AccuWeather TV network's hurricane special is right around the corner.

The special presentation will air at 8 p.m. EDT Tuesday, June 1, (the first official day of the Atlantic hurricane season) on the AccuWeather TV Network. This hurricane special comes on the heels of last year's AccuWeather Hurricane Town Hall, which was executive produced by Jim Proeller, the top producer at the AccuWeather TV Network. Proeller is overseeing the production of this year's special also.

"As a leading ‘go-to' source for weather news and information, for people who want to be ‘in the know,' we have created a complete 360-degree program showcasing what is forecast as we move into the hurricane season as well as varying perspectives to enable businesses to prepare and people to keep their families safe," Proeller said.

The 2020 hurricane season was one to remember with 30 named storms -- the most on record in one year for the Atlantic basin. For the second time in history, forecasters blew through the entire English alphabet and had to turn to using the Greek alphabet to continue naming the storms.

Last year's one-hour television event featured expert meteorologists, emergency management officials, top government officials and business leaders, all of whom discussed the unique challenges the hurricane season would pose amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

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This year's hurricane town hall will continue down the path of expert insight on hurricane preparedness and how individuals can stay safe and protect their homes and property.

Some featured guests and experts viewers will hear from include AccuWeather's Lead Hurricane Forecaster Dan Kottlowski; Director of the National Hurricane Center Ken Graham; New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell; Hurricane Katrina incident commander Col. Terry Ebbert; and Director of the New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Collin Arnold.

"The well-rounded slate of experts from varying disciplines joining us help illustrate the far-reaching impacts of dangerous tropical weather and will provide practical useful information to keep our audience hurricane-ready as the season approaches," Proeller said.

Viewers can also expect to see some stories that touch on the strength of the human spirit during trying experiences like hurricanes, Proeller said. "We are very excited to present an in-depth special presentation that showcases important stories of preparation as well as those heroes who emerge after a storm. We have a wide variety of information that helps note what was learned from the 2020 season as well as what key areas are being focused on for 2021," he added.

A satellite image showing Tropical Storm Ana, the first named storm of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, moving over the open ocean. (NOAA)

While the upcoming hurricane season may not be the record-breaking onslaught that last season turned out to be, AccuWeather forecasters say it will still be an above-average year for tropical activity.

AccuWeather's tropical forecast team is anticipating 16 to 20 named storms this season and seven to 10 hurricanes, with three to five of them being considered major hurricanes reaching either Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.

Even though hurricane season does not officially begin until June 1, the Atlantic Ocean has already seen some tropical activity. On Saturday, May 22, Subtropical Storm Ana formed in the Atlantic, 200 miles northeast of Bermuda, and it was briefly upgraded to a tropical storm.

By Sunday evening, Ana had already been downgraded to a tropical depression.

Be sure to tune into the AccuWeather TV network at 8 p.m. EDT Tuesday, June 1, to watch the special presentation and visit AccuWeather.com afterward for follow-up coverage and highlights from the event.

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.