NOAA hurricane image
WASHINGTON D.C., United States, CMC – The United States National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season officially ended on Saturday with the fewest number of hurricanes since 1982.
NOAA attributed the fewer hurricanes in large part to “persistent, unfavourable atmospheric conditions over the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and tropical Atlantic Ocean.”
It said this year is expected to rank as the sixth-least-active Atlantic hurricane season since 1950, “in terms of the collective strength and duration of named storms and hurricanes.”
“A combination of conditions acted to offset several climate patterns that historically have produced active hurricane seasons,” said Dr Gerry Bell, lead seasonal hurricane forecaster at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, a division of the US National Weather Service.
“As a result, we did not see the large numbers of hurricanes that typically accompany these climate patterns,” he added.
NOAA said 13 named storms formed in the Atlantic basin this year. Two, Ingrid and Humberto, became hurricanes, but neither became major hurricanes.
It said although the number of named storms was above the average of 12, the numbers of hurricanes and major hurricanes were “well below” their averages of six and three, respectively. Major hurricanes are categories 3 and above.
“This unexpectedly low activity is linked to an unpredictable atmospheric pattern that prevented the growth of storms by producing exceptionally dry, sinking air and strong vertical wind shear in much of the main hurricane formation region, which spans the tropical Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Also detrimental to some tropical cyclones this year were several strong outbreaks of dry and stable air that originated over Africa,” Bell said.
NOAA said it will issue its 2014 Atlantic Hurricane Outlook in late May, prior to the start of the season on June 1
