Hurricane aftermath.Photo:Jose Rodriguez/AFP/Getty
Jose Rodriguez/AFP/Getty
Thishurricane seasonwill likely be a strong one.
On Thursday, scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationreleased additional findingsthat the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season — which began on June 1 and ends on Nov. 30 — could be record-breaking.
Revisions to research originallypublished in Maynow suggest that there could be between 14 and 21 named storms this season. Included in the study are six to 11 tropical disturbances that could become hurricanes with winds of 74 mph or greater, and up to five that could become major hurricanes with winds ranging from 111 mph and higher.
“The National Weather Service is dedicated to providing timely and accurate forecasts to empowerindividuals, families and communitiesto take proactive measures this hurricane season,” Ken Graham, director of NOAA’s National Weather Service, said of the updated information. “New tools such as a new hurricane model, the Hurricane Analysis and Forecast System and the expansion of the National Hurricane Center’s Tropical Weather Outlook to seven days are examples of our commitment to enhancing our forecasting capabilities and services.”
“The mainclimate factorsexpected to influence the 2023 Atlantic hurricane activity are the ongoing El Niño and the warm phase of the Atlantic Multi-Decadal Oscillation, including record-warm Atlantic sea surface temperatures,” Matthew Rosencrans, lead hurricane season forecaster with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service, added. “Considering those factors, the updated outlook calls for more activity, so we urge everyone to prepare now for the continuing season.”
Hurricane Irma in Miami, Florida.Warren Faidley/Getty
Warren Faidley/Getty
While talking to the news agency, Yale Climate Connections meteorologist Jeff Masters compared the water temperatures to a hot tub. That same week, Dr. Craig Crandall, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center,discussed with PEOPLEif the above-temperature waters were still okay to swim in.
Hurricane Ian in Sarasota, Florida in 2022.Sean Rayford/Getty
Sean Rayford/Getty
“If someone is just sitting in a lounge chair or floating in the ocean, that’s really not going to be much of a problem,” Crandall advised. “But as they’re physically active, their muscles are generating a lot of heat and their bodies are not as effective at releasing that heat. So as their body temperature goes up, there could be a dangerous situation there.”
The high temps have also raised eyebrows for other professionals. “We didn’t expect this heating to happen so early in the year and to beso extreme,” Derek Manzello, a coordinator at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Watch, toldCNN. “This appears to be unprecedented in our records.”
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Peak Atlantic hurricane season runs from August to October, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only ocean seeing intense activity. In the Pacific, Hurricane Dora, a category 4 storm, was a major contributing factor to thecatastrophic damage in Maui, Hawaiithis week. On Thursday, multiple outlets, includingNBC News, reported that at least 36 people died as wildfires wreaked havoc on the island.
Wildfires in Maui, Hawaii 2023.Zeke Kalua/County of Maui via AP
Zeke Kalua/County of Maui via AP
source: people.com
