This hurricane season will be even more active than previously predicted, NOAA says

[Judi Lynn]

By Mindy Weisberger - Senior Writer about 9 hours ago

An already-active hurricane season shows "no sign of slowing."



Hurricane Elsa, seen here in a photo captured by an astronaut on the International Space Station on July 4, was the first hurricane of the 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season, and the earliest fifth named storm on record. (Image credit: NASA)

It's been just over two months since the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season kicked off on June 1, and we can expect to see even more hurricanes and named storms than experts previously predicted, before the season winds down on Nov. 30.

On Wednesday (Aug. 4), scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) updated their May 20 hurricane season forecast, in an online briefing. They had already warned in May of above-normal hurricane activity, Live Science previously reported, and their update confirmed the presence of atmospheric and ocean conditions that favor higher-than-average storm activity.

One such factor is the growing possibility of an emerging La Niña, a climate pattern that pushes warm waters in the Pacific Ocean toward Asia and carries cooler water to the surface off the western coast of North America, according to NOAA. When La Niña is dominant and waters around the equatorial Pacific are cooler, the Atlantic hurricane season can be more severe, Matthew Rosencrans, lead seasonal hurricane forecaster at NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, said at the briefing.

More:
https://www.livescience.com/hurricane-outlook-2021-update.html