2019 Storm Surge Report Published

What can New Jersey expect during the current hurricane season. We can look at past history and know that both Hurricane Irene and Superstorm Sandy occurred after uncharacteristically warm winters and warm springs. For 2019, we have had neither. Actually as of June 15th, the temperture at 5:15 a.m. was a chilly 59 degrees, and the temperatures have been much cooler than average. The ocean temperature is in the 50’s which again is a good sign. Typically, if we have cool springs, the chances of a catastrophic storm are considerably less. But CoreLogic has issued its report and it is worth a read. 

CoreLogic issued its 2019 Storm Surge Report last week, which attempts to assess the risk and vulnerabilities of areas which border the eastern and gulf coasts from storm damage.  A quick summary of the report follows below:

“The 2019 CoreLogic® Storm Surge Report provides an annual evaluation of the number of single-family and, new this year, multifamily residential homes in the United States that are vulnerable to storm surge in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Basin. All numbers discussed in the body of the report comprise both single-family and multifamily homes in aggregate unless specified otherwise. The report also includes the associated reconstruction cost value (RCV) of these properties. This year’s analysis shows which areas along each regions’ coasts are susceptible to this type of flooding event. The risk of storm-surge flooding is not uniform along either coast, nor is risk limited to states with a reputation for more frequent hurricane activity such as Florida or Louisiana. Every state with a coastline that borders the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean has areas of high risk for storm surge damage.”

“Early predictions for 2019 indicate an average year for both the number of tropical storms and hurricanes. The forecast released from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in late May indicate seasonal activity could range from slightly below to slightly above average, with nine to 15 total named storms and four to eight hurricanes (two to four of which would be major hurricanes). Again, while the number of storms is important to consider, the location of landfall for any given storm is much more important when considering the effect that storm surge will have on property loss.”