It is the middle of September. Hurricane season is here, and the storm activity has already started.

Already, a tropical storm hit New Orleans the week of September 2. Then hurricane, Florence, originally a category 4 but downgraded to a category 1, hit North Carolina September 15. Florence’s path was right toward the Carolinas and Virginia. However, North Carolina received the worst of it. Both North and South Carolina  put out evacuation alerts due to the storm. Both the hurricane and the resulting floods and flash floods have resulted in 35 deaths, as of September 18, according to CBS News. 

“I think that the hurricane season will be bad. It seems to get worse every year. I think it will be worse around the Gulf of Mexico states, because it always seems to be most destructive there,” junior Emma Hayden said.

There are also more hurricanes brewing in the Atlantic, that have a chance to become hurricanes. Currently, there is Tropical Storm Isaac and Hurricane Helene brewing behind Florence. Isaac was recently downgraded to a Tropical Storm, however, that can change back to a hurricane if the conditions are right. Helene is right off the coasts in Europe, and Isaac is right about in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Isaac is currently headed towards the Gulf of Mexico. Helene is currently regressing back to Wales, and hitting the UK. Tropical Depression Paul is also brewing off the West Coast.

“I think hurricane season will be better this year. It seems to take a year off every year. However, I think it will be worse in the south, because that is where most of the hurricanes come from,” junior Adam Thomason said.

The Atlantic is not the only ocean seeing activity. Tropical Storm Olivia is nearing Hawaii. The storm has weakened, but it is not completely broken apart. The storm is still expected to do a fair amount of damage, like most hurricanes and Tropical Storms. This, on top of the aforementioned Tropical Depression Paul.