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A12 science
Friday 3 June 2022

Experts:Everything points to another

busy hurricane season

cord of three in a row, and
forecasters predict a sev-
enth. The only contrary sign
is that for the first time since
2014, a storm didn't form
before the official June 1
start of the hurricane sea-
son, but forecasters are
watching the Eastern Pa-
cific's record-setting Hur-
ricane Agatha that looks
likely to cross over land and
reform as Alex in the Gulf of
Mexico later this week.
Here's what may make the
Atlantic chaotic this sea-
son:
LA NINA
This photo made available by NASA shows Hurricane Harvey
over Texas on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, seen from the Interna- One of the biggest influ-
tional Space Station. ences on Atlantic hurri-
Associated Press cane seasons occurs half a
world away in the tempo-
By SETH BORENSTEIN researcher Phil Klotzbach rarily cooling waters of the
AP Science Writer said. equatorial Pacific, the nat-
Batten down the hatches In the past two years, fore- ural cyclical phenomenon
for another nasty hurricane casters ran out of names called La Nina, the more
season. for storms. It's been a costly dangerous for the United
Nearly every natural force rogue's gallery of major States flip side to El Nino.
and a bunch of human- hurricanes — with winds of La Nina alters weather
caused ones — more than at least 111 mph (179 kph) across the world, including
just climate change — — striking land in the past making hurricane develop-
have turned the last several five years: Harvey, Irma, ment in the Atlantic more
Atlantic hurricane seasons Maria, Florence, Michael, likely. It starts with the Sahel
into deadly and expensive Dorian, Humberto, Laura, region of Africa, where the
whoppers. The season that Teddy, Delta, Zeta, Eta, seeds of the many of the
starts Wednesday looks like Iota, Grace and Ida. strongest mid-season hurri-
another note in a record- "That's the pattern that canes, called Cape Verde
breaking refrain because we've been locked into. storms, form. That often dry
all those ingredients for di- And what a statistic to think region is wet and stormy in
saster are still going strong, about: From 2017 to 2021, La Nina and that helps with
experts warn. more Category four and early formation.
They say these factors point five (hurricanes) made U.S. One weather feature that
to but don't quite prom- landfall than from 1963 to can decapitate storms or
ise more trouble ahead: 2016," National Hurricane prevent them from forming
the natural climate event Center Director Ken Gra- in the first place is high cross
La Nina, human-caused ham said in an Associat- winds called shear. But La
climate change, warmer ed Press interview in front Nina pretty much deadens
ocean waters, the Gulf of of two hurricane-hunter shear, which is "a huge fac-
Mexico's deep hot Loop planes that fly into the tor" for more storm activity,
Current, increased stormi- storms. University of Albany hur-
ness in Africa, cleaner skies, Graham, echoing most ex- ricane researcher Kristen
a multi-decade active perts and every pre-season Corbosiero said.
storm cycle and massive forecast, said "we've got CLIMATE CHANGE
development of property another busy one" coming. Studies show that climate
along the coast. Last year, the Atlantic set a change is making hur-
"It's everything and the record for six above aver- ricanes wetter, because
kitchen sink," Colorado age hurricane seasons in warm air can hold more
State University hurricane a row, smashing the old re- moisture, and are making
the strongest storms a bit
stronger. Storms also may
be stalling more, allowing
them to drop more rain
over the same place, like in
2017's Harvey, where more
than 50 inches (127 cen-
timeters) fell in one spot.
They are also rapidly inten-
sifying more often, experts
say.
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