**** Environment Canada Release
Atlantic hurricane season begins
The 2021 Atlantic hurricane season is part of the annual tropical cyclone season in the Northern Hemisphere. This season officially began on June 1, 2021, and ends on November 30, 2021. That said the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) – the official lead hurricane agency for the Atlantic Basin – began to issue regular Tropical Weather Outlooks on May 15 this year, two weeks earlier than it has ever done in the past. This change was implemented in light of the fact that a number of named storms had formed in the Atlantic Ocean prior to the official start of the season in each of the preceding six seasons.
Hurricane “Teddy” (mid Atlantic) and Tropical Storm “Beta” (Gulf of Mexico) September 21, 2020. Credit: NOAA/GOES-16 satellite.
2021 Atlantic hurricane season forecast
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center is predicting another above-normal Atlantic hurricane season. Forecasters predict a 60% chance of an above-normal season; however, experts do not anticipate the historic level of storm activity seen in 2020.
Canadian Hurricane Centre
Tropical cyclone bulletins are generally issued every six hours once a storm is forecast to impact Canada or Canadian waters within a 72-hour period. Bulletins are issued at 9:00 p.m., 3:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m., and 3:00 p.m. ADT. Tropical cyclone bulletins provide forecast discussions and wind speed information.
Once a storm begins to have a significant impact on Canada or Canadian waters, intermediate bulletins are issued in addition to the regular bulletins above, at 6:00 p.m., 12:00 a.m., 6:00 a.m., and 12:00 p.m. ADT. These bulletins are brief and state the position, movement and intensity of the storm.
Storm names for 2021
Within the North Atlantic Basin, tropical or subtropical storms are named when they are judged to have 1-minute sustained winds of at least 34 knots (63 km/h). The following names will be used to name storms that form in the Atlantic in 2021.
| Ana | Bill | Claudette |
| Danny | Elsa | Fred |
| Grace | Henri | Ida |
| Julian | Kate | Larry |
| Mindy | Nicholas | Odette |
| Peter | Rose | Sam |
| Teresa | Victor | Wanda |
Until 2021, if all of the names on the annual name list were used, additional tropical or subtropical storms would be named – using Greek letters of the alphabet. However, in March 2021, the World Meteorological Organization Hurricane Committee announced that any additional storms will now receive a name from an auxiliary list, to avoid confusion caused by the Greek letter names.
| Adria | Braylen | Caridad |
| Deshawn | Emery | Foster |
| Gemma | Heath | Isla |
| Jacobus | Kenzie | Lucio |
| Makayla | Nolan | Orlanda |
| Pax | Ronin | Sophie |
| Tayshaun | Viviana | Will |
The Canadian Hurricane Centre keeps you informed so you can prepare for upcoming storms. You can also receive up-to-date hurricane bulletins and alerts: Hurricane bulletin: e-services.
For more: Canadian hurricane conditions.
