A Nasty Hurricane Season Gets Started?

Scott Dodd�� Reporting on U.S. weather

NOAA, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

June 1 marks the official beginning of Atlantic hurricane season, and forecasters are already watching two systems to see if they become tropical cyclones.

It could be the start of a busy season →

A Nasty Hurricane Season Gets Started?

Scott Dodd�� Reporting on U.S. weather

Last week, government forecasters predicted the seventh busy year in a row for the Atlantic. Here’s what they expect:

14-21 named storms with top winds of at least 39 miles per hour
6-10 hurricanes with sustained winds of at least 74 m.p.h.
3-6 major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher, with sustained winds of at least 111 m.p.h.

A Nasty Hurricane Season Gets Started?

Scott Dodd�� Reporting on U.S. weather

Already on Wednesday morning, the National Hurricane Center was monitoring two areas of potential development in the Atlantic. They included the remnants of Hurricane Agatha, which crossed Mexico from the Pacific, and a system near the Bahamas.

A Nasty Hurricane Season Gets Started?

Scott Dodd�� Reporting on U.S. weather

Arielle Bader/Tampa Bay Times, via Associated Press

Agatha’s remnants are likely to become a tropical cyclone again, the center said, and could strengthen to a named storm. If so, it would get a new designation: Alex. It is forecast to bring heavy rain to parts of Florida on Friday and Saturday.

A Nasty Hurricane Season Gets Started?

Scott Dodd�� Reporting on U.S. weather

One factor that could make this season especially bad: the Loop Current, which brings warm Caribbean water into the Gulf of Mexico. The current looks similar to how it did in 2005, when it helped supercharge several storms, giving Hurricane Katrina a boost to Category 5 status.

A Nasty Hurricane Season Gets Started?

Scott Dodd�� Reporting on U.S. weather

It’s the 800-pound gorilla of Gulf hurricane risks.

Nick Shayprofessor of oceanography at the University of Miami, writing about the Loop Current

Read more about what to expect this hurricane season.