The hurricane season of 2018 was devastating and included some of the most powerful storms on record from Hurricane Florence to Hurricane Michael.

The experiences of last year have heightened fears that the 2019 hurricane season may be as bad.

Well the new hurricane season is set to begin on June 1, but due to the devastation created by last year’s hurricanes people are a little jittery about what is to come. So jittery, in fact that the first patch of low-pressure swirl over the Bahamas on April 29 days before the official start of the hurricane season, received modest media coverage. According to the National Hurricane Center in Miami Florida, that low-pressure system had a 20 percent chance to develop into the first tropical storm and it warned that whether it becomes a hurricane or not, Floridians should be expecting heavy rains.

Later, the National Weather Service announced that the tropical depression had a zero chance of becoming a tropical storm although it did produce showers and thunderstorms over the western Atlantic.

While a tropical storm in May is not common, it does not necessarily mean that we’re in for an unusual hurricane season this year. The National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is expected to give its forecast later this month.

Even though the hurricane season won’t be starting soon, Florida Power & Light Company is already preparing by burying power lines, strengthening utility poles and introducing new technology to assist the electric grid to better take the attack.

AccuWeather has released their forecast saying that they expect a “near- to slightly above-normal season with 12 to 14 storms. Of that number, AccuWeather expects five to seven of them will become hurricanes and two to four are predicted to be major hurricanes.

Those who predict these things draw comparisons to previous years with comparable weather conditions to the current year. Forecasters are saying that this season compares to the hurricane season of 1969. That was the year that Hurricane Camille battered the U.S. Gulf coast. It became one of only three Category 5 hurricanes on record to strike the United States.

Back in the day, hurricanes were named after the saint’s day when they occurred. Today, the World Meteorological Organization, an agency of the United Nations, selects the name on a six-year long repeating list. The names of recent storms Harvey, Irma, Maria, and Nate have been retired.

The names selected to use for hurricanes that occur this year include:

• Andrea
• Barry
• Chantal
• Dorian
• Erin
• Femand
• Gabrielle
• Humberto
• Imelda
• Jerry
• Karen
• Lorenzo
• Melissa
• Nestor
• Olga
• Pablo
• Rebekah
• Sebastien
• Tanya
• Van
• Wendy

Certainly, if power companies in Florida are preparing for the upcoming hurricane season, then so should you. Protect your family from being plunged into darkness with a stand along generator from APElectric, located in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. The company offers a wide range of generators on its website. The products are made by some of the world’s greatest generation manufacturers including Cummins, Westinghouse, Kohler, Briggs & Stratton, Generac, and Guardian. The site also includes a generator-sizing calculator and offers information on how to select the proper generator for your situation.