2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season Begins June 1

May 25, 2023

May 25, 2023 – The 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season begins Thursday, June 1, and runs through Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023. This morning, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released their predictions and are calling for 12-17 named storms, 5-9 of those storms becoming hurricanes, and 1-4 storms becoming major hurricanes at a Category 3 level or higher.

The predictions are similar to the results from last year's hurricane season, which yielded 14 named storms, 8 hurricanes and 2 major hurricanes. Hurricane Ian devastated areas on Florida's southwest coast, and Santa Fe College closed for three days as the storm approached.

The state legislature has passed two Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holidays – the first scheduled to run May 27 through June 9, and the other from Aug. 26 until Sept. 8. Items like reusable ice packs, candles, flashlights, batteries, gas cans, bottled water, portable generators and more can be purchased during the tax holiday without paying sales tax.

SF's Emergency Management will meet as necessary during the season and provide students, faculty and staff with any needed information about potential closing dates if storms impact the college's service district. Official college announcements about closures and storm updates will be provided on the SF Alerts webpage.

You can also use resources from the National Hurricane Center, including a Hurricane Preparedness Guide to get ready for the Atlantic Hurricane Season. Now is also a good time for students to check eSantaFe and employees to check eStaff to make sure their emergency contact information is updated. You can also (if you haven't already done so) download the Safe Santa Fe app for additional safety resources.