Apr 10
20
Category 3 hurricanes produce wind speeds of at least 178 km/h, fast enough to cause “devastating” damage, according to the U.S. National Weather Service. The Atlantic region has averaged 2.3 major hurricanes each year over the past century.
Researchers forecast a 69 per cent chance that a major hurricane will touch down somewhere on the U.S. coastline this year. The average for the last century is 52 per cent, the report said.
The forecast suggests there’s a 44 per cent chance a major hurricane will strike the Gulf Coast, where many U.S. oil refineries are situated, an increase from the last century of an average of 30 per cent.
Researchers said the “weakening of El Nino conditions” across the Pacific Ocean combined with a very strong warming of the Atlantic’s sea surface temperatures are the primary reasons behind the anticipated increase of hurricane activity this year.
“We believe that these two features will lead to favourable dynamic and thermodynamic conditions for hurricane formation and intensification,” the report said.
In March, private U.S. weather forecaster AccuWeather.com predicated that the Atlantic region would see five hurricanes this year, with two or three major ones making landfall in the U.S.
The Atlantic hurricane season officially runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. Let’s see how much water damage we suffer in Ontario as a result.
