The Atlantic hurricane season officially begins in one month, on June 1, and this year the National Hurricane Center has a plan to highlight the far-reaching risks of hurricanes and tropical storms.
That’s because landfall is only part of the story with these devastating storms. Sometimes the most horrific damage comes hundreds of miles away from where the center of the eye hits the coast.
This was the case with Hurricane Helene last year, which barreled ashore near Steinhatchee, Florida, but caused some of the most violent destruction in western North Carolina almost 400 miles away. Overall, the storm claimed the lives of 248 people and caused $78.7 billion in damage.
The National Hurricane Center wants to highlight those kinds of risks with reimagined maps that can light up huge swaths of the nation that face risks from tropical cyclones. The maps will look noticeably different from familiar forecast graphics that focused more on the path of the storm and the risks at the coast.
The effort began in 2024 and is expected to become more visible this year. The new, more colorful map could become the new face of hurricane warnings next year, hurricane center warning coordination meteorologist Robbie Berg told USA TODAY April 30.
What does the map show?
The National Hurricane Center “will again issue an experimental version of the cone graphic that includes a depiction of inland tropical storm and hurricane watches and warnings in effect for the continental United States,” the center said in a statement.
The graphic make it “easier to spot storm risks and help state and local leaders, families, and communities stay ahead and stay safe, whether on the cusp of the our coasts or in the heartland of the nation,” the hurricane center said in a recent post on X.
Inland weather watches and warnings (such as the yellow ‘tropical storm watch’ area) will again be available in an experimental graphic during the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. This is an example from Hurricane Helene in 2024.
Why the addition?
The hurricane center said that “recommendations from social science research suggest that the addition of inland watches and warnings to the cone graphic will help communicate wind risk during tropical cyclone events while not overcomplicating the current version of the graphic with too many data layers.”
What is new this year?
Based on feedback received during the 2024 hurricane season, the experimental cone legend will now contain the symbology for areas where a hurricane watch and tropical storm warning are simultaneously in effect (diagonal pink and blue lines near Tampa on the above map).
“The only real change is the slight modification to the legend for a simultaneous hurricane watch/tropical storm warning,” Berg said. “The legend issue was the only main concern we received from the experimental period last year. We’ll see if we get any major feedback this season, and then we’ll re-assess about possibly making the product operational in 2026,” he said.
“It was always our intention to make the new cone experimental for at least two seasons to allow a large window for comments from users,” Berg added.
Where will the experimental map be shown?
Last year the experimental graphic was available via a link next to the operational/legacy cone on the hurricane center website. “We’re discussing ways to make this more visible for this season, but nothing has been decided quite yet,” Berg said.
In addition, the hurricane center said the experimental graphic may not be available as soon as the current cone graphic, “due to the time needed to compile complete inland watch and warning information, but it should generally be available within 30 minutes of the advisory release. During the experimental phase, technical issues could affect the timeliness or availability of the graphic.”
As well, “there will be opportunity to provide comments and feedback during the product’s experimental phase,” the hurricane center said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hurricane center plans changes to famous cone graphic
