Complex Weather System to Ruin Staycation Plans in Eastern Seaboard This Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day is here and millions of Americans across the United States are reportedly planning to travel nationwide during the upcoming weekend. However, the latest U.S. weather forecast shows that a complex weather system might ruin staycation plans along the Eastern Seaboard during the Memorial Day weekend. Meteorologists from Fox Weather expect heavy rain and rough surf due to gusty winds.

The weather forecast comes as meteorologists earlier this week reported that tropical systems formed off the Florida coast. Based on recent forecasts, the systems could intensify or not but is still alarming since it has been considered as a pre-season tropical development. This means that it is a weather system that developed too early in relation to the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season starting June 1.

Memorial Day Weekend Weather

The Memorial Day weekend weather will experience a variety of weather conditions. In particular, torrential rain, strong winds, and large waves are expected along the East Coast, particularly from parts of the Carolinas and to the Southeast Coast, according to Fox Weather forecasters on Friday, May 26.

The media company's meteorologists are monitoring a complex weather system in the Atlantic Ocean off the Eastern Seaboard coast. The forecast coincides with an estimate of the mass of travelers at approximately 42.3 million Americans that will travel at least 50 miles from their homes this weekend, according to the American Automobile Association, as cited by Fox Weather.

2022 Memorial Day

In 2022, the Memorial Day weekend was met with forecasts relating to severe storms, snowfall events, and high temperatures in different parts of the nation, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) at that time.

In the same period last year, the weeks leading to the Memorial Day holiday in the U.S. in late May were met with severe thunderstorms and extreme heatwaves nationwide. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) last year also forecasted an above-average 2022 Atlantic hurricane season.

2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season

In its news release on Thursday, May 25, the NOAA forecasters predicted there will be a "near-normal 2023 Atlantic hurricane season" based on the El Nino weather phenomenon and above-average Atlantic Ocean temperatures. The prediction was also made with the Climate Prediction Center (CPC), a part of the NWS.

Based on the NOAA-CPC forecast, there will be a 40% chance of a near-normal season or near-average season. Meanwhile, there will also be a 30% chance for an above-normal and a 30% chance for a below-normal season.

The NOAA approximated that 12 to 17 named storms, with 39 miles per hour or high wind strength, will form during the Atlantic hurricane season, which spans from June to November 30 each year.

In addition, five to nine storms could become hurricanes (with a wind speed of 74 miles per hour or higher), including one to four major hurricanes, classified as category 3, 4, or 5 (with a wind speed of 111 miles per hour or higher), the U.S. government agency says.