Yeee....haw......here we go!!! I hear hurricanes a-blowin, I know the end is comin' soon, I fear rivers over flowin', I hear the voice of rage and ruin....Looks like we're in for nasty weather....
NOAA issues highest-ever early forecast for the coming hurricane seasonIn the highest hurricane season forecast they have ever released in May, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration forecasters said Thursday that the coming months may be exceptionally busy.
“The forecast for named storms, hurricanes and major hurricanes is the highest NOAA has ever issued for the May outlook,” Rick Spinrad, the agency's administrator, said in a news conference. “This season is looking to be an extraordinary one in a number of ways.”
NOAA predicts eight to 13 hurricanes and 17 to 25 named storms. Storms get names when their wind speeds reach 39 mph or higher.
Given the near-record warmth in much of the Atlantic Ocean and a strong chance of La Niña conditions, forecasters said there is an 85% chance of an above-normal season along the Atlantic seaboard.
"All the ingredients are definitely in place to have an active season," said Ken Graham, the director of the National Weather Service.
Hurricane season begins June 1 and ends November 30. It typically starts to peak in late summer and early fall.
Global warming increases hurricanes' propensity for damaging effects. A warmer atmosphere makes the storms more likely to rapidly pick up wind speed as they near the shore. And when storms make landfall, climate change is increasing the probability they will stall and drop rainfall at extreme rates................
https://www.yahoo.com/news/noaa-issues-highest-ever-may-145553366.htmlNOAA is far from alone in making such a prediction for this hurricane season.
Nearly every public, private and government hurricane forecast service is expecting a high season for hurricanes and named storms, according to a website operated by Colorado State University and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, which tracks predictions each year. The site has aggregated early hurricane forecasts from 23 centers.
The NOAA forecast is in line with the aggregate. On average, the services have predicted 23 named storms, 11 hurricanes and five major hurricanes (the designation given to storms that reach Category 3 or higher, based on their wind speeds).
