Extraordinary hurricane season expected

It blows up to a storm over the Atlantic. Record-warm ocean waters and a natural weather phenomenon have experts warning of what could be one of the worst hurricane seasons on record.

It could be a summer marred by natural disasters in parts of the United States. The risk is high that the hurricane season in the Atlantic will be something out of the ordinary, according to the US weather agency NOAA.

The authority’s forecast lands on between 17 and 25 tropical storms so powerful that they get names. Of these, 8-13 are predicted to reach hurricane strength – and up to seven will be so powerful that they are classified as at least category 3 on a five-point scale.

“Extraordinary”

That’s the largest number of hurricanes NOAA has ever predicted in its May forecast for the Atlantic season, which officially runs from June through November.

– This season looks to be an extraordinary one in several ways, says Rick Spinrad from NOAA at a press conference.

It only takes one storm to destroy a community.

Several other institutes and forecasters are also predicting a more intense hurricane season than usual. This is mainly due to two factors: the warm ocean water that fuels the hurricanes and La Niña. The latter is a naturally occurring weather phenomenon that usually boosts hurricanes and is expected to make an entrance during late summer.

– We’ve never had a La Niña combined with this warm sea temperature so it’s a bit ominous, says Brian McNoldy, researcher in meteorology at the University of Miami, to the AP news agency.

“Crazy”

It has been record-warm in the world’s oceans for 13 months in a row, which is linked to climate change. In the area of the Atlantic where hurricanes mainly form, the water in May has been as warm as it usually is in mid-August.

– It’s crazy, says McNoldy.

It is record hot in the surface water as well as in the deep, which McNoldy describes as “scary”.