The Atlantic hurricane season has been off to a quiet start but meteorologists warn it’s still too early to let your guard down.
The season crossed its statistical peak on Wednesday, and so far, there have been six named storms and one major hurricane.
“That’s a little below average actually for those numbers. Typically, by this point in the season we would have seen eight named storms and had three hurricanes,” said Ian Hubbard, meteorologist with the Canadian Hurricane Centre.
Since Hurricane Erin brought rough surf to the Maritimes in August, it has been relatively quiet in Atlantic Canada.
In comparison, there were six named storms and four hurricanes at this point in 2024.
Get daily National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
“It has been a remarkably quiet hurricane season so far in the Atlantic — one of the quietest since 1950,” said Global News meteorologist, Ross Hull.
Forecasters had predicted above-normal hurricane activity in the Atlantic basin heading into the season, but several factors have prevented that from happening so far.
“It’s been quite dry in the tropics. That really takes away the moisture that these storms would need to feed off of,” said Hubbard.
“We’ve seen higher windshear as well. Windshear tends to act to keep the storms from developing and keeping form.”
Hurricane season runs from June 1 until Nov. 30, with peak activity typically between mid-August and mid-October.
Keeping that in mind, conditions can still change, and those who live in hurricane-prone areas should be prepared.
“Anything you would do in a typical busy season to prepare for hurricane season you should still be doing it,” said Hubbard.
Read the full article here
