Tame 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season Hangs on Developing El Nino
HOUSTON—A slightly below-average 2023 Atlantic hurricane season lies ahead with an El Nino weather phenomenon damping the storm outlook, a top U.S. hurricane forecaster said on Thursday.
El Nino, a weather system that forms from warm ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific, increases vertical wind shear, lessening or breaking up tropical storms.
“If a robust El Niño does not develop, the potential for an active Atlantic hurricane season still exists,” according to the first outlook by Colorado State University (CSU) researchers.
The forecasters expect two major hurricanes, or those with wind speeds of at least 111 miles per hour (179 kph), to develop out of six hurricanes and 13 named storms….