Emergency Management

Nantucket Alerts

CivicReady is a communication service that sends immediate alerts to Nantucket's residents who are subscribed to the system.

All users will have the ability to customize their notification preferences after signing up. Alerts can be sent via email, text, and/or phone call so you never miss important communication about an emergency event in the area. We will contact you through CivicReady in the event of an emergency or other routine events based on your subscription preferences.

Nantucket Alerts! (sign up here)

Hurricane Season

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1st to November 30th, The Atlantic basin includes the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico.

Tropical cyclone: A rotating, organized system of clouds and thunderstorms that originates over tropical or subtropical waters and has a closed low-level circulation. Tropical cyclones rotate counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere. They are classified as follows:

Tropical Depression: A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 38 mph (33 knots) or less.
Tropical Storm: A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph (34 to 63 knots).
Hurricane: A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 74 mph (64 knots) or higher. In the western North Pacific, hurricanes are called typhoons; similar storms in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean are called cyclones.

Major Hurricane: A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 111 mph (96 knots) or higher, corresponding to a Category 3, 4 or 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

2023 Hurricane Outlook

For 2023 the National Weather Service (NWS), predicts near-normal hurricane activity in the Atlantic. The outlook for the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season predicts a 40% chance of a near-normal season, a 30% chance of an above-normal season and a 30% chance of a below-normal season.

The NWS 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, including 1 to 4 major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5; with winds of 111 mph or higher). Forecasters have 70% confidence in these ranges.

The upcoming Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be less active than recent years, due to competing factors — some that suppress storm development and some that fuel it — driving this year's overall forecast for a near-normal season.

After three hurricane seasons with La Nina present, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists predict a high potential for El Nino to develop this summer, which can suppress Atlantic hurricane activity. El Nino’s potential influence on storm development could be offset by favorable conditions local to the tropical Atlantic Basin.

NOAA’s outlook is for overall seasonal activity and is not a landfall forecast. In addition to the Atlantic seasonal outlook, NOAA also issues seasonal hurricane outlooks for the eastern Pacific and central Pacific hurricane basins. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center will update the 2023 Atlantic seasonal outlook in early August, just prior to the historical peak of the season.

Source: National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)