Miami Braces For Powerful Hurricanes
“The Atlantic is hotter, earlier. That’s a bad sign for hurricane season, Florida corals”– Miami Herald.
The weather experts who keep track of hurricane season are anxious the upcoming one will be brutal. A chart of North Atlantic temperatures at this time of year shows the highest water temperatures on record for the period.
Another indication is that El Niño is weakening. La Niña is strengthing, creating wind shear that makes storms more likely to form. Brian McNoldy, a senior research associate at the University of Miami, commented to the Herald, “Once we do start seeing the early season forecasts from Colorado State University and NOAA, I suspect they’re going to be pretty aggressive.”
Research from last year indicated scientists expect many years to produce stronger hurricanes than they have in the past. In Nature, a report titled “Observed increases in North Atlantic tropical cyclone peak intensification rates” pointed out that “… the number of TCs (tropical storms) that intensify from a Category 1 hurricane (or weaker) into a major hurricane within 36 h has more than doubled in the modern era relative to the historical era.” The “modern era” runs from 2001 to 2020. The “historical era” runs from 1971 to 1990.
Can experts say that 2024 will be the worst hurricane season on record? No, They can, however, say that upcoming years will produce much more powerful than those in the past.
