Hurricane season officially begins this Thursday, June 1st and runs through November 30th. You might think hurricanes don't or won't affect us, but think again.Hurricanes are large-scale and very powerful storm systems forming over water. Typically they make landfall and depending on the driving power of the upper level weather patterns, hurricanes can affect Green Country causing widespread heavy rainfall and storms.The most recent tropical system to affect Oklahoma was tropical storm Bill in 2015. Flash flood emergencies were issued by the National Weather Service. It occurred early in the season, on June 16 and brought nearly 8 inches of rainfall to parts of the state killing two and causing the shutdown of I-35.And how could Oklahoma forget Tropical Storm Erin in 2007? This storm actually increased in intensity a bit as is moved in towards the state with 80 m.p.h. wind gusts at times. Unfortunately, it resulted in 6 fatalities. Some areas saw major flood damage as rain totals of nearly a foot were recorded in portions of central Oklahoma.And in 2010, remnants from Tropical Storm Hermine brought in over a foot of rainfall to portions of Eastern Oklahoma.In the past 10 years around 5 tropical storm systems slammed our state, and with this year being an "above-average" Atlantic season, it is always good for you to be prepared.Of course, we have already seen our fair share of rainfall this season. Just one of these systems could bring more flash flooding to our already waterlogged state.This year, the National Hurricane Center is predicting a total of 14 named storms, 7 of those being hurricanes, and 3 of those being a category 3 or higher.
