{"id":8349,"date":"2023-09-13T02:46:45","date_gmt":"2023-09-13T02:46:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2023\/09\/13\/exceptionally-warm-atlantic-has-been-rocket-fuel-for-a-hyperactive-hurricane-season-but-its-not-over\/"},"modified":"2023-09-13T02:46:45","modified_gmt":"2023-09-13T02:46:45","slug":"exceptionally-warm-atlantic-has-been-rocket-fuel-for-a-hyperactive-hurricane-season-but-its-not-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2023\/09\/13\/exceptionally-warm-atlantic-has-been-rocket-fuel-for-a-hyperactive-hurricane-season-but-its-not-over\/","title":{"rendered":"Exceptionally warm Atlantic has been \u2018rocket fuel\u2019 for a hyperactive hurricane season. But it\u2019s not over"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Atlantic hurricane season typically reaches its peak this week, but record-warm ocean temperatures are fueling a hyperactive season that experts say shows no signs of slowing. <\/p>\n

The average hurricane season starts June 1 and runs through November 30, but its statistical peak is on September 10. So far this year, hurricane activity has been above average in every respect, according to Phil Klotzbach, a research scientist in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University. <\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Fourteen named storms have roamed the Atlantic \u2013 the average for an entire season<\/span> <\/div>\n
Five of those storms have been hurricanes. The average for this time of the year is 3.5 hurricanes.<\/span> There have been three major hurricanes, which is nearly double the average for this time of year. The third major hurricane typically doesn\u2019t form until October 28 in an average season.<\/span> Two named storms have made landfall in the US. Tropical Storm Harold made landfall on August 22 in South Texas. Hurricane Idalia\u2019s August 30 landfall was the strongest in Florida\u2019s Big Bend in more than 125 years.<\/span> Hurricane Lee rapidly intensified at the third-fastest rate on record in the Atlantic and became a Category 5 monster. Only 39 other storms have reached Category 5 strength in the Atlantic. <\/span> <\/div>\n

Record-warm water fuels an active season<\/h2>\n

Some fast facts on 2023 hurricanes so far: <\/p>\n

Before it started, forecasters predicted an average season, but warned of more uncertainty than usual because of a climatic battle between a burgeoning El Ni\u00f1o and warmer-than-normal ocean temperatures. El Ni\u00f1os tend to produce more wind shear \u2013 upper-level winds that can rip storms apart \u2013 but warm water can fuel their growth. <\/p>\n

Then, as the season started, ocean warmth skyrocketed to record levels and forecasters warned of explosive tropical development and a more active season, something that has come to fruition. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe saw how hot the Atlantic was and said, \u2018Alright, we gotta go for it,\u2019\u201d said Klotzbach, whose research group creates seasonal hurricane forecasts. <\/p>\n

\u201cThankfully, we have a strong El Ni\u00f1o,\u201d Klotzbach said, because if there was no El Ni\u00f1o, the season would \u201cprobably be tracking 200% of normal instead of 130% of normal.\u201d <\/p>\n

But Klotzbach said this El Ni\u00f1o, which by all measures is considered strong, isn\u2019t affecting the western Atlantic like it normally would. <\/p>\n

The extreme <\/strong>ocean heat and low wind shear are having some major effects on the season, Klotzbach said. More storms are able to form than would otherwise be possible in a typical El Ni\u00f1o year. Even the storms that have been weakened by moderate shear \u2013 like hurricanes Franklin and Lee \u2013 were able to stay alive and restrengthen once they found more favorable conditions. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf we leave a storm out there long enough, eventually it\u2019s going to find somewhere where the shear isn\u2019t that strong\u201d and it can strengthen, Klotzbach said. <\/p>\n

More frequent rapid intensification and more major hurricanes are also byproducts of this season\u2019s ripe conditions. Idalia, Franklin and Lee all rapidly intensified in water running well above normal. <\/p>\n

\u201cWarm water is not the only thing you need, but it does kind of load the dice toward these high-end rapid intensification events,\u201d Klotzbach said. \u201cYou look at the water Lee was tracking over, it should have been at 28 degrees Celsius instead they\u2019re 30 (degrees Celsius) \u2013 it\u2019s like rocket fuel.\u201d <\/p>\n

The season isn\u2019t over yet \u2013 90% of hurricane season activity happens from mid-August until mid-October \u2013 and Klotzbach said the next two weeks still look like they could produce more storms. <\/p>\n

Beyond that point, it\u2019s anyone\u2019s guess, Klotzbach said, but an Atlantic tinderbox has already proven full of surprises this season. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day we\u2019ve learned even in a strong El Ni\u00f1o, if you get the Atlantic warm enough it can hold its own,\u201d Klotzbach said. <\/p>\n\n

This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Atlantic hurricane season typically reaches its peak this week, but record-warm ocean temperatures are fueling a hyperactive season that experts say shows no signs of slowing. The average hurricane season starts June 1 and runs through November 30, but its statistical peak is on September 10. So far this year, hurricane activity has been <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":8350,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-8349","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8349\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}