Hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean begins Sunday and continues until the leaves are off the trees. Already Amanda, a powerful storm, is churning in the Pacific Ocean. We hope residents are taking advantage of a state sales-tax holiday on storm supplies; this tax-free period on certain items ends Saturday.

Be prepared in another way as well: here is a list of names for tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic for 2014. They are Arthur, Bertha, Cristobal, Dolly, Edouard, Fay, Gonzalo, Hanna, Isaias, Josephine, Kyle, Laura, Marco, Nana, Omar, Paulette, Rene, Sally, Teddy, Vicky and Wilfred. We hope only a few of them make an appearance this year, and that all will stay away from our shores.

Last week, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center issued its 2014 season outlook for Atlantic hurricanes. This year’s prediction looks good—with a 50 percent chance of a below-normal season, a 40 percent chance of a near-normal season and only a 10 percent chance of an above-nor...