Gargantuan hurricane WILL occur in Northeast US. It is long overdue, experts warn

Scientists have warned that a devastating hurricane is overdue to strike the Northeast US coastline. In an alert issued on Tuesday, meteorologists at AccuWeather said that the region is "climatologically overdue" for a hurricane since a major hurricane has not made landfall here in more than 70 years, and a direct Category 1 hurricane landfall has not occurred in over three decades. Alex DaSilva, lead hurricane expert, said in a press release, a hurricane typically "will strike New Jersey northward into southern New England" every 15 to 20 years on average. "A major hurricane, so that's Category 3 or higher, for the Northeast is every 60 to 70 years or so," he added. However, since this has not happened, it makes the region vulnerable to a big storm. It would not be a regular hurricane, and could be one of the biggest natural disasters in terms of economic losses. According to AccuWeather, it would cause devastation equal to the Great New England hurricane of 1938 that killed 700 people. The destruction cost $450 million. Also Read: Buckle up East Coasters! An even stronger 'storm of the century' is coming

Hurricanes can strike the US Northeast

Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist, warned, "This kind of storm will happen again in New England", and it is only a matter of when, not if. Hurricanes are ideally thought to occur only on the Southeast or Gulf Coast. However, DaSilva asserted the need for preparation, adding that people in the Northeast "don't take hurricanes seriously because they haven't had one since 1991." The worst storms for them are Nor'easters, but hurricanes can also strike the region, and would be much worse, he said. According to him, the odds of a major hurricane hitting the Northeast in a year are about 1.5 per cent. He added that the region does not face a hurricane threat this year, although authorities need to be prepared for such a scenario in future. Also Read: When does a storm get named, and who chooses the names? Hurricane naming explained

Last month, a study warned that the US East Coast could face an even bigger storm of the century, or nor’easters, due to climate change. The storm typically hits the US between September and April, bringing huge amounts of rain, snow and flooding. The region witnessed the “Storm of the Century” in March 1993, and then the “Snowmageddon” in 2010 that affected Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. The study author stated that while the number of nor’easters is expected to go down in a warming world, the few that will happen will be highly intense and strong.