May 26th, 2023 by WCBC Radio

The 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season officially starts Thursday, June 1, and the Maryland Department of Emergency Management (MDEM) reminds people who live in, work in, or visit Maryland to Know Your Zone if a large storm requires evacuations from coastal and tidal areas.Recent hurricane seasons have been unusually busy – 2020 set a record for named Atlantic Hurricanes – so it is important to Know Your Zone, and also have an emergency plan, a disaster supply kit, and multiple ways to receive warnings from the National Weather Service (NWS) and local emergency officials. In 2021, Hurricane Ida, which made landfall in the Gulf of Mexico, still managed to cause tornadoes and flooding in Maryland and dangerous flash floods in the Northeast. Last year, Hurricane Ian devastated parts of Florida.

NOAA is forecasting a range of 12 to 17 total named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher). Of those, 5 to 9 could become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including 1 to 4 major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5, with winds of 111 mph or higher). NOAA has a 70% confidence in these ranges.

The Know Your Zone program allows local emergency officials to order evacuations by letter zones (A, B, and C) to more easily provide information to those in the area. To determine if you live, work, or visit an evacuation zone in Maryland, please go to KnowYourZoneMD.com and click on the “Find Your Zone” link. Type in the address of the property you are interested in and you will find out if the location is in an evacuation zone.