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| NOAA 2015 Hurricane Seasons Outlooks issued in May. Click here to view. |
Amid all the holiday hubbub, climate change talks and debate
over what to do about Syrian refugees, one major seasonal worry has ended.
November 30, 2015 marked the end of the hurricane season for the Atlantic,
central and eastern Pacific.
NOAA released its assessment of the season noting that there
were 11 named storms in the Atlantic, on the higher end of their prediction released
prior to the start of the season in mid-May. Four of the storms became
Hurricanes and two, Danny and Joaquin, became major hurricanes. No hurricanes
made landfall, but two tropical storms — Ana and Bill — struck the coasts of South
Carolina and Texas, respectively.
By contrast, the central and eastern Pacific were the most
active with a total of 32 named storms. Of the 32 named storms, 21 evolved into
hurricanes. In the eastern Pacific, where 18 hurricanes spawned, nine became major
hurricanes. The central Pacific experienced eight hurricanes of which five
became major storms. NOAA noted that of the five hurricanes in the central
Pacific, three became major hurricanes (Ignacio, Kilo and Jimena) and “churned
at the same time east of the International Dateline, the first time that was
ever recorded.”
NOAA said the storm activity in the Pacific broke records
that go back to 1971 when reliable record keeping began. The weather service
pointed to El Niño as “the leading climate factor influencing both the Atlantic
and Pacific seasons this year.”
“El Niño produces a see-saw effect, suppressing the Atlantic
season while strengthening the eastern and central Pacific hurricane seasons,”
said Gerry Bell, Ph.D., lead seasonal hurricane forecaster at NOAA’s Climate
Prediction Center. “El Niño intensified into a strong event during the summer
and significantly impacted all three hurricanes seasons during their peak
months.”
The complete report from NOAA including maps detailing regional
storm activity is available by clicking here.
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