Colorado State Is Calling for 13 Named Storms This Hurricane Season
Colorado State University released its annual Atlantic hurricane forecast: 13 named storms, six of which are expected to become hurricanes.
The forecast comes as NOAA data shows last month was the hottest March on record for the Lower 48 states — the largest anomaly ever recorded for any month. A forecast El Niño could drive temperatures higher still.
El Niño historically suppresses Atlantic hurricane activity by increasing wind shear. But the baseline sea surface temperatures are so elevated that even a shear-heavy season may produce more intense storms than historical averages would suggest.
Separately: emperor penguins have been declared an endangered species, pushed closer to extinction by sea ice loss in Antarctica. The global authority on threatened wildlife made the designation this week.
These things are connected — warmer oceans, vanishing ice, stronger storms — but the political will to act on the connection remains fragmented. The weather, however, is not waiting for the policy debate to resolve.