I usually don’t talk about Hurricane season or disaster planning this early in the year. But yesterday, a daily weather blog by professional meteorologist Mr. Rocco Calaci who we have great respect for mentioned the following:

“Switching gears…yesterday by former NOAA meteorologist Mr. David Dilley gave a webinar on the upcoming 2018 hurricane season.  Though he provided substantial supporting evidence of his projections, the numbers he stated for this year’s hurricane forecast were sobering.

According to Mr. Dilley, he concluded that we will have 16 named storms this year, with 8 hurricanes and 4 landfalls on the United States.  Of these 4 potential landfall hurricanes 2 should be Category 3 or higher.

Because we are going into an active hurricane cycle, Mr. Dilley believes the Gulf of Mexico will be vulnerable to another hurricane and potentially the East Coast as well.

As with all of these hurricane projections, we have to wait and see how things turn out.  Mr. Dilley’s 2018 projection is always the earliest that provides real numbers.  There are a few other 2018 hurricane projections, but they don’t have real numbers assigned; only vague statements such as “above average”, “neutral” or “below average”.

Of course, the National Hurricane Center won’t release their 2018 projections until May to allow for the maximum collection of data and information to enter into their calculations.”

Folks, it’s not too early to get your storm planning updated and in order, especially businesses and condominium associations. If you were impacted by Hurricane Irma, look at where improvements can be made both pre and post storm. Get a professional review of your existing policy and shore it up where needed. Consider a pre-storm property assessment that documents the condition of your property and identifies any issues that may impact a claim. Identify your disaster recovery team so you get prompt attention if your property is damaged. This may include restoration contractors and yes a public adjuster to file and manage your claim while you are busy tending to your business operations. 

More to come on how our staff is dealing with Hurricane Irma claims and the lessons learned that may impact the 2018 Hurricane Season planning.