Severe summer temperatures will bring an “explosive” hurricane season to the United States, with 20 to 25 named storms originating in the Atlantic Ocean, say multiple weather experts.
Forecasters confirm that this season will see a considerable uptick in occurrences compared to previous decades.
An average of 14.4 named storms are expected in a regular season. But this year, we’ll have 23. In the same vein, it’s “normal” to see 7.2 hurricanes but we’ll have 11.
Out of these 11 hurricanes, five will become categories 3–4-5, according to the University of Colorado.
Experts at the Weather Company and Atmospheric G2 confirm that this hurricane season will be one of the strongest ever recorded.
According to their observations, there will be 25 named storms and 12 hurricanes. Six of them, potentially dangerous.
“This is the highest number of hurricanes predicted in any forecast issued by The Weather Company,” the company announced.
The University of Pennsylvania goes further with 27 to 39 storms.
But why is this year different from previous ones?
The collision between unusually warm waters and changing weather systems will result in a higher number of strong storms.
Massive heatwaves won’t help either. Cities like Washington, DC, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston and New York City will experience more 90-degree days in 2024 than in 2023.
Texas and New Mexico “must prepare” for an unusually long period of heavy heatwaves.
Other areas like Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri are set to see atypical weather events like “tornadoes, damaging winds, and even convective systems,” said Paul Pastelok, a senior meteorologist and forecaster at AccuWeather.
This does not mean other US cities are “safe.” While storm events will affect the central US in the first part of summer, unfavorable environmental conditions are set to impact many other cities in the second part, said the expert.
“We could have several systems going on at the same time [in the tropics]. There’s a good opportunity for that to explode and take off [in the second part of summer],” he concluded.
Therefore, the probability of seeing at least one major hurricane landfall is way higher than it was in previous years.
“The cumulative Atlantic Basin cyclone activity will be approximately 170 percent of its long-term averages,” according to the University of Colorado.
Hurricane season is set to begin on June 1 and Americans living in affected cities should double-check that they have everything needed to fight high temperatures, flooding and deadly hurricanes before they become a reality.