It’s the middle of Atlantic hurricane season, but you’d be forgiven for forgetting that it’s even happening.
\n\nThe basin has only seen three named storms since the start of hurricane season in June, a trio of weak and largely disheveled tropical storms. One or two additional tropical storms are possible through the middle of August as the season struggles against a bevy of unfavorable conditions.
\n\nThey include this year’s El Niño, which is on its way to making history as sea surface temperatures soar to unprecedented heights across a critical swath of the Pacific Ocean, as well as persistent puffs of dry, dusty air that are blowing off the coast of Africa.
\n\nTogether, these distant forces are working to stifle any opportunity for tropical storms to develop across the Atlantic basin. Forecasters now expect one of the quietest hurricane seasons in years, with fewer than 10 named storms likely to sneak through the unfavorable conditions.
\n\nExperts have been stunned by how fast El Niño has intensified this summer. This pattern of warmer-than-normal waters around the equator in the eastern and central Pacific significantly alters global weather patterns.
\n\nEl Niño requires water temperatures in a key region around the equator to…
Original source: https://www.wired.com/