The 2021 hurricane season will be “more active than average,” according to a new forecast.
AccuWeather predicts that there will be up to 20 named storms, according to a team of meteorologists. There are some interesting predictions from the team, which is led by meteorologist Dan Kottlowski:
- Seven to 10 hurricanes
- Three to five major hurricanes (Category 3 or higher)
- Three to five hurricanes impacting the United States and its territories
These predictions coincide with changes from the National Hurricane Center, which announced earlier this year that they will start issuing daily forecasts two weeks before the official start of the season. That’s because in recent years, storms have started to form before the official start of the year.
“Current indications are this will be another above-normal season,” Kottlowski said in a press release. “This can translate into high impacts on the United States.”
Typically, there are 14 named storms in a season, which include three major hurricanes. There were a record 30 named storms in 2020, which included 13 hurricanes of which six were considered major storms.
A warming planet means there will be more stronger hurricanes, and the Atlantic Ocean is the warmest it’s been in nearly 3,000 years, according to research from University of Massachusetts Amherst.
The research, which focused on global warming effects on Arctic ice caps, is just one damning piece of evidence the changing climate wreaks havoc on the weather.
“The surface waters of the Atlantic have been consistently warm since about 1995,” lead researcher Raymond Bradley said. “We don’t know if conditions will shift towards a cooler phase any time soon…”
The Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1.