Hurricane season is one month away

Reporter: Matt Devitt
Published: Updated:

The strong El Niño that brought us just a rainy and cloudy winter is right now in the process of flipping to a La Niña by the peak of the season in August, September, and October.

La Niña is defined as cooler than normal waters in the Eastern Pacific Ocean that has the ability to alter weather patterns across the world. 

One of those changes is that La Niña often lowers wind shear in the Tropical Atlantic Ocean, which can promote both more storms and stronger storms.

“Another ingredient working against us is that water temperatures in the Main Development Region, which stretches from the Yucatán Peninsula to Africa where many storms ride along, is at record-warm level,” Chief Meteorologist Matt Devitt explained.

As a result, the chances of someone getting impacted by a storm this year along the Gulf or Atlantic will be higher than normal, but as always, it’s never a guarantee.

We also have to factor in the amount and duration of dry, dusty air from Africa (Saharan Dust) as it moves across the Atlantic, a dynamic that has been known to hurt tropical systems.

Devitt will also be looking to see where and how strong high pressure in the Atlantic Ocean will be, a big player in steering hurricanes.

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