Hurricane activity may increase as the end of summer approaches, with the peak expected in the next few weeks.
Some new storms are already beginning to brew in the earth’s oceans.
Hurricane season for this year officially kicked off on June 1. Weather officials predicted this would be a “near normal” season, with 12 to 17 storms anticipated and five to nine expected to become full-fledged hurricanes, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.Â
Storm activity in the Atlantic Ocean typically peaks on September 10, with the majority of activity occurring in the mid-August to mid-October range, while activity in the eastern Pacific will peak in August, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.
The National Hurricane Center reports that the only currently active storm is Hurricane Dora in the eastern Pacific. The storm is tracking eastward with sustained maximum windspeeds of 110 miles per hour.
Hurricane Dora is accompanied by a tropical disturbance off the coast of Central America. Although another disturbance is present in the Atlantic Ocean, there is no activity in the central Pacific Ocean.
Weather officials expect storm activity to ramp up in the coming months, especially this month. Phil Klotzbach, a hurricane researcher at Colorado State University, told USA Today that historically, 95% of the hurricane season has yet to be experienced.
Klotzbach said that the ongoing El Niño weather pattern may foster this development.
“This weaker high pressure tends to allow for more frequent storm recurvature. That has been the trend so far this year, but it’s unclear if that will continue,” said Klotzbach, according to USA Today.
The month of August typically sees triple as many named storms as July. Several factors influence this development, including wind shear, atmospheric instability, surface temperatures of the seas, and more, according to The Weather Channel.
So far, this hurricane season has seen the development of a total of five storms, making it the fourth most active start to any season since 1851, according to The Weather Channel. Hurricanes such as Fiona and Ian in 2022, Ida and Nicholas in 2021, as well as Laura, Sally, and Delta in 2020 all occurred and struck the U.S. during the peak months of the season.
As of now, no developed storms this season have presented a threat to the continental United States.
