Warmest June so far in northern Atlantic Ocean 

2023 has been a year of record breaking in terms of weather. From record low air quality in the Northeast, due to the Canadian wildfires, to a 1-in-1000-year flooding event in Fort Lauderdale, 2023 has already been out of the ordinary. The next place researchers and meteorologists are turning their eyes: sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic Ocean. 

The reason that meteorologists pay close attention to the North Atlantic Ocean, and specifically the Main Development Region (MDR), has to do with hurricane development. The Main Development Region is generally the stretch of the Atlantic hurricanes travel across when they develop off the Western African coastline. 

The Main Development Region has already warmed to a record high for the month of June. This June has already warmed to 82°F (28°C) which broke the previous record set back in 2005. 

2023 is the warmest year so far out of the available sea surface temperature data, which dates back to 1940. Some researchers are attributing the above-average warmth to the lack of Saharan dust that typically provides some cooling to the Main Development Region. 

In a normal year, this would raise concerns about increased activity for the 2023 hurricane season. 2005, the year that previously held the record, is the most active hurricane season on record (records date back to 1851). The good news is that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officially announced an El Niño Advisory, meaning El Niño conditions have developed and will likely stick around through winter. Because of that, the concern for an above average hurricane season is lower.