{"id":4593,"date":"2019-06-22T06:12:11","date_gmt":"2019-06-22T11:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/?p=4593"},"modified":"2019-06-25T17:42:13","modified_gmt":"2019-06-25T22:42:13","slug":"hurricane-el-nino-texas-electricity-bills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/hurricane-el-nino-texas-electricity-bills\/","title":{"rendered":"2019 Hurricane Season, El Ni\u00f1o, and Your Texas Electricity Bills"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Hurricane

Find out how this year\u2019s hurricane season could affect your Texas electricity rates. <\/center><\/p><\/div>\n

Are Your Texas Electricity Rates Hurricane Ready?<\/h2>\n

This year’s hurricane season is already underway and it’s not to be taken lightly. Extreme summer weather causes more and more disruptions to our lives. Powerful storms can force companies in the Gulf of Mexico to evacuate drilling rigs, which often spikes the price of natural gas. Storm surges can shut down coastal power plants, electric switching stations, and natural gas pipelines. Even inland cities and towns located in steep-sloped river valleys can be inundated by torrential rains. High winds snap power lines, causing power outages that plunge whole regions in the dark for days. Some storms, like Hurricane Sandy, Katrina, Harvey, submerged entire metropolitan areas, impacting energy reliability and affecting prices<\/a>. Because of the combination of growing storm intensity and high regional demands for energy, tropical cyclones now tend to cause wider-felt market disruptions. These in turn can cause energy shortages and increase Texas electricity rates that may linger for months.<\/p>\n

That’s why everyone in Texas should be aware of this year’s hurricane season and how it can effect their Texas electricity bills<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Texas Hurricane Season 2019 Predictions<\/h3>\n

Hurricane season officially runs from June 1 to November 30. Unlike last year’s “above normal activity forecast”, 2019 is predicted to be a near-normal Atlantic hurricane season.<\/p>\n

2019 Atlantic Hurricane Predictions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\nNOAA
\nPrediction<\/td>\n		CSU
\nPrediction<\/td>\n		Weather Co.
\nPrediction<\/td>\n		TSR
\nPrediction<\/td>\n		Seasonal Average
\n1981-2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Number of named storms
\n(winds 39 mph+)<\/td>\n		9-15<\/td>\n13<\/td>\n14<\/td>\n12<\/td>\n12<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Storms becoming hurricanes
\n(winds 74 mph+)<\/td>\n		4-8<\/td>\n6<\/td>\n7<\/td>\n6<\/td>\n6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Major hurricanes
\n(Cat. 3, 4 or 5, winds 111 mph+)<\/td>\n		2-4<\/td>\n2<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n2<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

A Certain Amount of Uncertainty<\/h3>\n

All of these forecasts come with a certain amount of…er, uncertainty. For example, NOAA’s prediction comes with a 70% probability. The remaining 30% is uncertainty due to the effects from several factors that either help or hinder tropical cyclone formation. So with that in mind, let’s quickly review the conditions that spawn hurricanes:<\/p>\n