Scientists are forecasting 11 North Atlantic hurricanes this year, five of them being major.
Researchers at the University of Arizona just predicted an extremely active North Atlantic season—which runs from June 1 to the end of November—with an estimated 11 hurricanes, five of them being major (meaning Category 3 or higher, with sustained wind speeds of at least 111 miles per hour). That would dwarf the 2023 season—itself the fourth-most-active season on record—which saw seven hurricanes, three of which intensified into major ones.
“Part of the reason is very warm ocean surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic Ocean,” says Xubin Zeng, director of the Climate Dynamics and Hydrometeorology Center at the University of Arizona. The other reason is that the Pacific Ocean is transitioning from a warm El Niño, which discourages the formation of Atlantic hurricanes, into cold La Niña, which encourages them. “So those two factors together give us a very active hurricane season prediction for this year.”
As a tropical cyclone grows, scientists measure sustained wind speeds to get an idea of how it’s intensifying.
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By Matt Simon
Scientists are forecasting 11 North Atlantic hurricanes this year, five of them being major.
Researchers at the University of Arizona just predicted an extremely active North Atlantic season—which runs from June 1 to the end of November—with an estimated 11 hurricanes, five of them being major (meaning Category 3 or higher, with sustained wind speeds of at least 111 miles per hour). That would dwarf the 2023 season—itself the fourth-most-active season on record—which saw seven hurricanes, three of which intensified into major ones.
“Part of the reason is very warm ocean surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic Ocean,” says Xubin Zeng, director of the Climate Dynamics and Hydrometeorology Center at the University of Arizona. The other reason is that the Pacific Ocean is transitioning from a warm El Niño, which discourages the formation of Atlantic hurricanes, into cold La Niña, which encourages them. “So those two factors together give us a very active hurricane season prediction for this year.”
As a tropical cyclone grows, scientists measure sustained wind speeds to get an idea of how it’s intensifying.
Read the full story on what’s turning the storms into increasingly dangerous behemoths: [https://www.wired.com/story/monster-hurricane-season-summer-2024-atlantic-tropical-storm/](https://www.wired.com/story/monster-hurricane-season-summer-2024-atlantic-tropical-storm/)