Sea temps already at June levels: Hurricane season danger sign appears 75 days early
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – Tropical weather meteorologists continue to sound the alarm about the upcoming 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season.
“I don’t like coming across as an alarmist — significant weather generates enough fear on its own without our help,” CBS 17 Meteorologist Lance Blocker said. “But this hurricane season has multiple signs that it will be very busy, and residents in coastal states ought to be prepared.”
One of the major concerns is the above-average sea surface temperatures from the Gulf of Mexico through the Atlantic Ocean.
Water temperatures are so warm that the current average temperature is on par with what we would expect to be occurring in the second week of May. That is over 10 weeks away.
Sea surface temperatures play a major role in hurricane development. As sea surface temperatures warm, more fuel is available for hurricane development.
Historically, this leads to more tropical weather systems, and stronger tropical weather storms.
Large swaths of the Central Atlantic, known as Hurricane Alley, are already above 80 degrees. We normally see temperatures like that in early June.
Unbelievable: the North Atlantic sea surface temperature is now 4.5 standard deviations above the recent 1991-2020 climatological mean… that translates to a 1-in-284,000-year event. Yet here we are watching it unfold, one day at a time. This is deeply troubling. pic.twitter.com/JWcm8atSIH
— Brian McNoldy (@BMcNoldy) February 22, 2024
Though the Atlantic temperatures could regress toward the mean, it doesn’t appear that is very likely.
The significantly above-average sea surface temperatures have continued from 2023 through the start of this year.
Last year was the fifth busiest Atlantic hurricane season on record, despite it being an El Niño year.
On average, El Niño seasons have fewer storms in the Atlantic. The marked increase in tropical weather development was likely due to the above-average sea surface temperatures.
Also, just this past week, the National Hurricane Center released the names for Atlantic Ocean storms and hurricanes in 2024.
Here is the full list:
Alberto
Beryl
Chris
Debby
Ernesto
Francine
Gordon
Helene
Isaac
Joyce
Kirk
Leslie
Milton
Nadine
Oscar
Patty
Rafael
Sara
Tony
Valerie
William
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