<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang=en prefix="og: http://ogp.me/ns#"> <head> <meta charset=utf-8> <meta name=viewport content="width=device-width,initial-scale=1"> <meta name=referrer content=unsafe-url> <meta name=theme-color content=#4992d3> <meta name=twitter:site content=@elitedaily> <meta property=og:site_name content="Elite Daily"> <meta property=fb:app_id content=378366428966386> <meta property=fb:pages content=237865036265136> <link rel=preconnect href=https://cdn.bustle.com crossorigin> <link rel=preconnect href=https://graph.bustle.com crossorigin> <link rel=preconnect href=https://imgix.elitedaily.com crossorigin> <link as="script" rel="preload" href="https://cdn.bustle.com/elitedaily/production/assets/main-e85394398496.js"><link as="script" rel="preload" href="https://cdn.bustle.com/elitedaily/production/assets/PostPage-335e28eccca4.js"><link as="style" rel="preload" href="https://cdn.bustle.com/elitedaily/production/assets/main-aaf4e72c016b.css"> <link rel=publisher href=https://plus.google.com/116571474491193319482> <link rel="shortcut icon" href=https://cdn.bustle.com/elitedaily/production/public/favicon-958992.ico type=image/x-icon> <link rel=apple-touch-icon href=https://cdn.bustle.com/elitedaily/production/public/icon-726543.png> <link rel=manifest href=https://cdn.bustle.com/elitedaily/production/public/manifest-390b41.json> <link rel=alternate type=application/rss+xml href=/rss> <link rel=stylesheet href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Lato|Cormorant+Garamond"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.bustle.com/elitedaily/production/assets/main-aaf4e72c016b.css"> <title>Why Have There Been So Many Hurricanes This Year? There's A Couple Of Reasons</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://www.elitedaily.com/news/why-2017-hurricane-season-has-been-so-bad-harvey-irma-maria/2076980" /><link rel="amphtml" href="https://www.elitedaily.com/news/why-2017-hurricane-season-has-been-so-bad-harvey-irma-maria/2076980/amp" /><meta name="description" content="Harvey flooded Houston. Irma, the strongest Atlantic hurricane in recorded history, ravaged the Caribbean and Florida. Jose is creeping up on New England. And now Maria has left a path of destruction in the Caribbean, even wiping out power to the entâ¦" /><meta name="author" content="Lisa Dunn" /><meta property="og:type" content="article" /><meta property="og:title" content="You're Not Crazy â The 2017 Hurricane Season Has Been Particularly Bad, And Here's Why" /><meta property="og:description" content="Harvey flooded Houston. Irma, the strongest Atlantic hurricane in recorded history, ravaged the Caribbean and Florida. Jose is creeping up on New England. And now Maria has left a path of destruction in the Caribbean, even wiping out power to the entâ¦" /><meta property="og:image" content="https://typeset-beta.imgix.net/elite-daily/2017/09/20210215/st_martin_hurricane_irma_maria.jpg?w=1200&amp;h=630&amp;auto=format&amp;q=70&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces" /><meta property="og:image:width" content="1200" /><meta property="og:image:height" content="630" /><meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" /><meta name="twitter:creator" content="@lisaaadunn" /><script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Elite Daily","url":"https://www.elitedaily.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://imgix.elitedaily.com/uploads/image/2017/10/19/9f19c550-c979-4066-a02b-1b6d89a03448-elite-logo-google.png","width":185,"height":40}},"mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.elitedaily.com/news/why-2017-hurricane-season-has-been-so-bad-harvey-irma-maria/2076980"},"headline":"Why Have There Been So Many Hurricanes This Year? There's A Couple Of Reasons","description":"Harvey flooded Houston. Irma, the strongest Atlantic hurricane in recorded history, ravaged the Caribbean and Florida. Jose is creeping up on New England. And now Maria has left a path of destruction in the Caribbean, even wiping out power to the entâ¦","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://typeset-beta.imgix.net/elite-daily/2017/09/20210215/st_martin_hurricane_irma_maria.jpg?w=1200&h=900&auto=format&q=70&fit=crop&crop=faces","width":1200,"height":900},"datePublished":"2017-09-21T22:05:24.000Z","dateModified":"2017-12-22T17:11:29.035Z","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Lisa Dunn"}}</script> </head> <body> <div><header class="m"><div class="n"><div><a class="o" href="/">Elite Daily</a><div class="q"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/EliteDaily/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="ab"><i class="ak"></i></a><a href="https://twitter.com/EliteDaily/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="ab"><i class="al"></i></a><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/elitedaily/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="ab"><i class="am"></i></a><a href="https://instagram.com/elitedaily/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="ab"><i class="aj"></i></a><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ex-games/id1259344899?mt=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="ab"><i class="ai"></i></a></div><div title="Search" class="u"></div><label for="navCheckbox" class="p"></label></div></div></header><div><div class="Q cv"><div id="ad-unit_473" data-cb-ad-id="/49944529/elite-daily/posts/universal/production"></div></div><article class="fI"><div class="P fJ"><div class="fR"><div class="fG fS"><noscript><img src="https://typeset-beta.imgix.net/elite-daily/2017/09/20210215/st_martin_hurricane_irma_maria.jpg?w=748&h=448&fit=crop&crop=faces&auto=format&q=70" srcset="https://typeset-beta.imgix.net/elite-daily/2017/09/20210215/st_martin_hurricane_irma_maria.jpg?w=375&h=211&fit=crop&crop=faces&auto=format&q=70 375w, https://typeset-beta.imgix.net/elite-daily/2017/09/20210215/st_martin_hurricane_irma_maria.jpg?w=375&h=211&fit=crop&crop=faces&auto=format&q=70&dpr=2 750w, https://typeset-beta.imgix.net/elite-daily/2017/09/20210215/st_martin_hurricane_irma_maria.jpg?w=748&h=448&fit=crop&crop=faces&auto=format&q=70 748w, https://typeset-beta.imgix.net/elite-daily/2017/09/20210215/st_martin_hurricane_irma_maria.jpg?w=748&h=448&fit=crop&crop=faces&auto=format&q=70&dpr=2 1496w" sizes="(min-width:768px) 748px, 375px" alt/></noscript><img src="https://typeset-beta.imgix.net/elite-daily/2017/09/20210215/st_martin_hurricane_irma_maria.jpg?w=748&amp;h=448&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces&amp;auto=format&amp;q=70" srcSet="https://typeset-beta.imgix.net/elite-daily/2017/09/20210215/st_martin_hurricane_irma_maria.jpg?w=375&amp;h=211&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces&amp;auto=format&amp;q=70 375w, https://typeset-beta.imgix.net/elite-daily/2017/09/20210215/st_martin_hurricane_irma_maria.jpg?w=375&amp;h=211&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces&amp;auto=format&amp;q=70&amp;dpr=2 750w, https://typeset-beta.imgix.net/elite-daily/2017/09/20210215/st_martin_hurricane_irma_maria.jpg?w=748&amp;h=448&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces&amp;auto=format&amp;q=70 748w, https://typeset-beta.imgix.net/elite-daily/2017/09/20210215/st_martin_hurricane_irma_maria.jpg?w=748&amp;h=448&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces&amp;auto=format&amp;q=70&amp;dpr=2 1496w" sizes="(min-width:768px) 748px, 375px" alt /></div><cite class="R">HELENE VALENZUELA/AFP/Getty Images</cite></div><div class="fQ"><div class="cv"><div id="ad-unit_474"></div></div><h1 class="fP">Why Have There Been So Many Hurricanes This Year? There's A Couple Of Reasons</h1></div><div class="fK"><div class="et fX">By <a href="/profile/lisa-dunn-1908575" class="eu" rel="author">Lisa Dunn</a><time dateTime="2017-09-21T22:05:24.000Z">Sept 21 2017</time></div><a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.elitedaily.com%2Fnews%2Fwhy-2017-hurricane-season-has-been-so-bad-harvey-irma-maria%2F2076980%3Futm_term%3Dshare" title="Share" class="S" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><i class="ae"></i>Share</a></div></div><div class="fT"><div class="cF fU"><p>Harvey flooded Houston. Irma, the strongest Atlantic hurricane in recorded history, ravaged the Caribbean and Florida. Jose is creeping up on New England. And now Maria has left a path of destruction in the Caribbean, even wiping out power to the entire island of Puerto Rico. You're not imagining it -- this hurricane season is punishing. But <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/09/hurricane-irma-harvey-season-climate-change-weather/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">why is the 2017Â hurricane season soÂ bad</a>?Â USA Today says it's the <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2017/09/18/yes-hurricane-season-has-been-worse-than-usual/677360001/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">worst year by "various meteorological standards"</a> and for myriad reasons.</p><p>Seriously, you're not hallucinating. <a href="https://www.livescience.com/57671-hurricane-season.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30</a>, according to Live Science, though the season peaks from August to October. And<em>Â National Geographic</em>Â reports that, while the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted an above-average season for 2017, NOAA predicted 14 to 19 named storms and only five to nine hurricanes.Â And, with two months to go, we've already had <em>four</em>Â hurricanes -- one of which was the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/09/us/hurricane-irma-records.html?mcubz=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strongest Atlantic hurricane</a> in recorded history. This year handily meets theÂ NOAA <a href="https://twitter.com/philklotzbach/status/910618090844471296" target="_blank" rel="noopener">definition of an "extremely active" hurricane season</a>.</p><p>To put into perspective: There have been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/19/us/hurricanes-irma-harvey-maria.html?smid=tw-nytimes&amp;smtyp=cur" target="_blank" rel="noopener">13 named storms</a> this year. TheÂ <em>New York Times</em> reports that "only four other seasons since 1995 have had that many by Sept. 18. Just two more by the end of the year would put 2017 in the top 15 since 1851, when reliable records began."</p><div class="cP"><div class="cM"><div class="cQ" style="padding-top:30%"></div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://twitter.com/EricHolthaus/status/910610019644620800"></a></blockquote><script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" async></script></div></div><p>OK, but why? Are we being cosmically punished?</p><p>While I can't address fears of cosmic punishment, I can at least point out some more easily measured metrics. (Though, on the note of cosmic punishment, one man believes the beginning of the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/09/20/the-christian-numerologist-whose-biblical-doomsday-claim-has-some-nervously-eyeing-sept-23/?utm_term=.2121f955d067" target="_blank" rel="noopener">end of the world will comeÂ on Sept. 23</a>, so do with that information what you will.)</p><h3>But nope. It's aboutÂ weather patterns and atmospheric conditions.</h3><p><em>NatGeo</em> sums it up thusly: "[A]tmospheric conditions were hurricane-friendly, and surface sea temperatures were warmer than usual." But what does that actually mean? Well, <a href="https://scijinks.gov/hurricane/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hurricanes need warm air</a>, consistent wind speeds on the surface and 10 miles up, and warm water temperatures in order to form and remain stable. These stormsÂ have found that in spades this year. Another part of the problem is, weirdly, likely the "lack of dust blowing across the Atlantic from Africa, which tends to having a drying effect on developing storms," according to USA Today.</p><p>Another factor is the fact that El NiÃ±o isÂ late to the party this year. Essentially,Â <a href="https://www.climate.gov/enso" target="_blank" rel="noopener">El NiÃ±o is part of a normal weather pattern</a> in which Pacific water temperatures rise slightly. This also usually creates wind patterns which can prevent the formation or strengthening of tropical storms.</p><p>In late July, long before Harvey and Irma and Maria, AccuWeather predicted that a <a href="https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/2017-atlantic-hurricane-season-update-el-nino-delay-may-spur-development-increase-risk-of-major-impact-on-us/70002059" target="_blank" rel="noopener">delay in El NiÃ±o</a> might increase the number of tropical storms and hurricanes, in part because El NiÃ±o wouldn't be aroundÂ to cut through the winds which often help strengthen tropical storms. Rude.</p><p>Because we still have over two months left in hurricane season, that means we could very well be looking at more storms -- including more hurricanes.</p><div class="cP"><div class="cM"><div class="cQ" style="padding-top:30%"></div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/910456628150927360"></a></blockquote><script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" async></script></div></div><p>ButÂ <em>why</em> is El NiÃ±o late, and <em>why</em> is the Atlantic warmer than usual, andÂ <em>why</em> are these storms able to gain strength as they make landfall?</p><h3>Yep â it'sÂ our old friend,Â climate change.</h3><p>Hurricanes tend to weaken as they reach land due to lost access to warm water and air (the two things that fuel hurricanes), but that mightÂ be changing due to climate change. Ocean temperatures have risen dramatically, which means that hurricanes have more to work with. (This is one of the reasons that Harvey was so strong.)</p><p>The NOAA reports that warming of the ocean has doubled in recent decades. Data from both the Environmental Protection Agency and NASA show that the <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WorldOfChange/decadaltemp.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ocean has warmed about 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit.</a> While that may notÂ sound like a lot, don't forget that's an <em>average</em>.Â NASA explains, "In the past, a one- to two-degree drop was all it took to plunge the Earth into the Little Ice Age. A five-degree drop was enough to bury a large part of North America under a towering mass of ice 20,000 years ago."</p><p>And while theÂ nature of hurricanes makes it hard to pin down trends, <em>NatGeo</em> says that "predictions based on warming suggest that average-intensity tropical cyclones -- <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/08/hurricane-harvey-climate-change-global-warming-weather/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Atlantic hurricanes included -- will likely get more intense</a>."</p><p>Thanks to climate change, we could be looking atÂ more frequent, more intense stormsÂ <em>and</em> storms more likely to make landfall.</p><p>Maybe that doomsday prediction isn't too far off.</p><p>Â </p><p><b>Check out the entireÂ </b><b><i>Gen Why</i></b><b>Â seriesÂ and other videos on Facebook and the Bustle app across Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV.</b></p><div class="cP"><div class="cL" style="padding-top:56.25%"><iframe allowfullscreen="1" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kMafJ-zcP6M"></iframe></div><cite class="cG">Elite Daily on YouTube</cite></div></div></div></article></div><div class="T"><input id="navCheckbox" type="checkbox" class="W" /><label for="navCheckbox" class="U"></label><nav class="V"><label for="navCheckbox" class="aa"></label><ul class="X"><li><a href="/">Home</a></li><li><a href="/fashion-beauty">Fashion &amp; Beauty</a></li><li><a href="/news">News</a></li><li><a href="/entertainment">Entertainment</a></li><li><a href="/life">Life</a></li><li><a href="/dating">Dating</a></li><li><a href="/video">Video</a></li></ul><ul class="Y"><li><a href="https://bustle.company/">Company</a></li><li><a href="/about">About</a></li><li><a href="/contact">Contact</a></li><li><a href="/newsletter">Newsletter</a></li><li><a href="/terms">Terms</a></li><li><a href="/privacy">Privacy</a></li><li><div class="_"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/EliteDaily/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="ab"><i class="ak"></i></a><a href="https://twitter.com/EliteDaily/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="ab"><i class="al"></i></a><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/elitedaily/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="ab"><i class="am"></i></a><a href="https://instagram.com/elitedaily/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="ab"><i class="aj"></i></a><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ex-games/id1259344899?mt=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="ab"><i class="ai"></i></a></div></li></ul></nav></div></div> <script>__INITIAL_STATE__ = {"id":"2428404","type":"ARTICLE","title":"Why Have There Been So Many Hurricanes This Year? There's A Couple Of Reasons","clipTitle":"You're Not Crazy â The 2017 Hurricane Season Has Been Particularly Bad, And Here's Why","path":"/news/why-2017-hurricane-season-has-been-so-bad-harvey-irma-maria/2076980","url":"https://www.elitedaily.com/news/why-2017-hurricane-season-has-been-so-bad-harvey-irma-maria/2076980","rating":"G","publishedAt":1506031524000,"updatedAt":1513962689035,"bodies":[{"version":"0.3.1","markups":[["a",["href","http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/09/hurricane-irma-harvey-season-climate-change-weather/","target","_blank","rel","noopener"]],["a",["href","https://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2017/09/18/yes-hurricane-season-has-been-worse-than-usual/677360001/","target","_blank","rel","noopener"]],["a",["href","https://www.livescience.com/57671-hurricane-season.html","target","_blank","rel","noopener"]],["em"],["a",["href","https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/09/us/hurricane-irma-records.html?mcubz=1","target","_blank","rel","noopener"]],["a",["href","https://twitter.com/philklotzbach/status/910618090844471296","target","_blank","rel","noopener"]],["a",["href","https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/19/us/hurricanes-irma-harvey-maria.html?smid=tw-nytimes\u0026smtyp=cur","target","_blank","rel","noopener"]],["a",["href","https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/09/20/the-christian-numerologist-whose-biblical-doomsday-claim-has-some-nervously-eyeing-sept-23/?utm_term=.2121f955d067","target","_blank","rel","noopener"]],["a",["href","https://scijinks.gov/hurricane/","target","_blank","rel","noopener"]],["a",["href","https://www.climate.gov/enso","target","_blank","rel","noopener"]],["a",["href","https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/2017-atlantic-hurricane-season-update-el-nino-delay-may-spur-development-increase-risk-of-major-impact-on-us/70002059","target","_blank","rel","noopener"]],["a",["href","https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WorldOfChange/decadaltemp.php","target","_blank","rel","noopener"]],["a",["href","http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/08/hurricane-harvey-climate-change-global-warming-weather/","target","_blank","rel","noopener"]],["b"],["i"]],"atoms":[],"cards":[["embed-card",{"type":"tweet","key":"uploads/image/2017/9/21/94f8996d-f2ac-49b8-9639-874ff3b07183-czrstbaj_400x400.jpg","attribution_url":"https://twitter.com/EricHolthaus/status/910610019644620800","attribution":"Eric Holthaus on Twitter","url":"https://twitter.com/EricHolthaus/status/910610019644620800","provider_name":"Twitter","width":400,"height":400,"html":"\u003cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"\u003e\u003cp lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eA quarter of all Atlantic Cat 5 landfalls on record have occurred in the last two weeks.\u003cbr\u003eA horrific, ominous month:\u003ca href=\"https://t.co/tRO3zU17zL\"\u003ehttps://t.co/tRO3zU17zL\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u0026mdash; Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/EricHolthaus/status/910610019644620800\"\u003eSeptember 20, 2017\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cscript async src=\"//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003c/script\u003e"}],["embed-card",{"type":"tweet","key":"uploads/image/2017/9/21/62cebeb9-0f03-4a64-a011-1f42c5f862ed-e-iaf9cz2t696rut.jpg","attribution_url":"https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/910456628150927360","attribution":"NBC News on Twitter","url":"https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/910456628150927360","provider_name":"Twitter","width":599,"height":337,"html":"\u003cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"\u003e\u003cp lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eWATCH: What it looks like in San Juan as Hurricane Maria moves ashore in Puerto Rico with 155 mph winds\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e(Via \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/GadiNBC\"\u003e@GadiNBC\u003c/a\u003e) \u003ca href=\"https://t.co/K6fjL0cisG\"\u003epic.twitter.com/K6fjL0cisG\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u0026mdash; NBC News (@NBCNews) \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/910456628150927360\"\u003eSeptember 20, 2017\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cscript async src=\"//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003c/script\u003e"}],["embed-card",{"type":"video","key":"uploads/image/2017/9/21/27331d49-7f01-42aa-81c6-83e7a0bbba1e-maxresdefault.jpg","attribution_url":"https://youtu.be/kMafJ-zcP6M","attribution":"Elite Daily on YouTube","url":"https://youtu.be/kMafJ-zcP6M","provider_name":"YouTube","width":1280,"height":720,"html":"\u003ciframe src=\"https://youtube.com/embed/kMafJ-zcP6M\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c/iframe\u003e"}]],"sections":[[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Harvey flooded Houston. Irma, the strongest Atlantic hurricane in recorded history, ravaged the Caribbean and Florida. Jose is creeping up on New England. And now Maria has left a path of destruction in the Caribbean, even wiping out power to the entire island of Puerto Rico. You're not imagining it -- this hurricane season is punishing. But "],[0,[0],1,"why is the 2017Â hurricane season soÂ bad"],[0,[],0,"?Â USA Today says it's the "],[0,[1],1,"worst year by \"various meteorological standards\""],[0,[],0," and for myriad reasons."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Seriously, you're not hallucinating. "],[0,[2],1,"Hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30"],[0,[],0,", according to Live Science, though the season peaks from August to October. And"],[0,[3],1,"Â National Geographic"],[0,[],0,"Â reports that, while the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted an above-average season for 2017, NOAA predicted 14 to 19 named storms and only five to nine hurricanes.Â And, with two months to go, we've already had "],[0,[3],1,"four"],[0,[],0,"Â hurricanes -- one of which was the "],[0,[4],1,"strongest Atlantic hurricane"],[0,[],0," in recorded history. This year handily meets theÂ NOAA "],[0,[5],1,"definition of an \"extremely active\" hurricane season"],[0,[],0,"."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"To put into perspective: There have been "],[0,[6],1,"13 named storms"],[0,[],0," this year. TheÂ "],[0,[3],1,"New York Times"],[0,[],0," reports that \"only four other seasons since 1995 have had that many by Sept. 18. Just two more by the end of the year would put 2017 in the top 15 since 1851, when reliable records began.\""]]],[10,0,[]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"OK, but why? Are we being cosmically punished?"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"While I can't address fears of cosmic punishment, I can at least point out some more easily measured metrics. (Though, on the note of cosmic punishment, one man believes the beginning of the "],[0,[7],1,"end of the world will comeÂ on Sept. 23"],[0,[],0,", so do with that information what you will.)"]]],[1,"h2",[[0,[],0,"But nope. It's aboutÂ weather patterns and atmospheric conditions."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[3],1,"NatGeo"],[0,[],0," sums it up thusly: \"[A]tmospheric conditions were hurricane-friendly, and surface sea temperatures were warmer than usual.\" But what does that actually mean? Well, "],[0,[8],1,"hurricanes need warm air"],[0,[],0,", consistent wind speeds on the surface and 10 miles up, and warm water temperatures in order to form and remain stable. These stormsÂ have found that in spades this year. Another part of the problem is, weirdly, likely the \"lack of dust blowing across the Atlantic from Africa, which tends to having a drying effect on developing storms,\" according to USA Today."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Another factor is the fact that El NiÃ±o isÂ late to the party this year. Essentially,Â "],[0,[9],1,"El NiÃ±o is part of a normal weather pattern"],[0,[],0," in which Pacific water temperatures rise slightly. This also usually creates wind patterns which can prevent the formation or strengthening of tropical storms."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"In late July, long before Harvey and Irma and Maria, AccuWeather predicted that a "],[0,[10],1,"delay in El NiÃ±o"],[0,[],0," might increase the number of tropical storms and hurricanes, in part because El NiÃ±o wouldn't be aroundÂ to cut through the winds which often help strengthen tropical storms. Rude."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Because we still have over two months left in hurricane season, that means we could very well be looking at more storms -- including more hurricanes."]]],[10,1,[]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"ButÂ "],[0,[3],1,"why"],[0,[],0," is El NiÃ±o late, and "],[0,[3],1,"why"],[0,[],0," is the Atlantic warmer than usual, andÂ "],[0,[3],1,"why"],[0,[],0," are these storms able to gain strength as they make landfall?"]]],[1,"h2",[[0,[],0,"Yep â it'sÂ our old friend,Â climate change."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Hurricanes tend to weaken as they reach land due to lost access to warm water and air (the two things that fuel hurricanes), but that mightÂ be changing due to climate change. Ocean temperatures have risen dramatically, which means that hurricanes have more to work with. (This is one of the reasons that Harvey was so strong.)"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The NOAA reports that warming of the ocean has doubled in recent decades. Data from both the Environmental Protection Agency and NASA show that the "],[0,[11],1,"ocean has warmed about 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit."],[0,[],0," While that may notÂ sound like a lot, don't forget that's an "],[0,[3],1,"average"],[0,[],0,".Â NASA explains, \"In the past, a one- to two-degree drop was all it took to plunge the Earth into the Little Ice Age. A five-degree drop was enough to bury a large part of North America under a towering mass of ice 20,000 years ago.\""]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"And while theÂ nature of hurricanes makes it hard to pin down trends, "],[0,[3],1,"NatGeo"],[0,[],0," says that \"predictions based on warming suggest that average-intensity tropical cyclones -- "],[0,[12],1,"Atlantic hurricanes included -- will likely get more intense"],[0,[],0,".\""]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Thanks to climate change, we could be looking atÂ more frequent, more intense stormsÂ "],[0,[3],1,"and"],[0,[],0," storms more likely to make landfall."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Maybe that doomsday prediction isn't too far off."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Â "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[13],1,"Check out the entireÂ "],[0,[13,14],2,"Gen Why"],[0,[13],1,"Â seriesÂ and other videos on Facebook and the Bustle app across Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV."]]],[10,2,[]]]}],"summary":"Harvey flooded Houston. Irma, the strongest Atlantic hurricane in recorded history, ravaged the Caribbean and Florida. Jose is creeping up on New England. And now Maria has left a path of destruction in the Caribbean, even wiping out power to the entâ¦","nofollow":false,"amp":true,"primaryMedia":{"url":"https://typeset-beta.imgix.net/elite-daily/2017/09/20210215/st_martin_hurricane_irma_maria.jpg","attribution":"HELENE VALENZUELA/AFP/Getty Images","attributionUrl":"","caption":""},"author":{"name":"Lisa Dunn","path":"/profile/lisa-dunn-1908575","twitter":"lisaaadunn","primaryMedia":{"url":"https://typeset-beta.imgix.net/lovelace/elite-daily/2017/06/12140040/lisadunn.jpg"}},"designer":null,"tags":[{"slug":"news"},{"slug":"homepage"}],"iabCategories":{"edges":[{"node":{"iabId":"IAB15-10"}},{"node":{"iabId":"IAB15-4"}}]},"watsonCategories":{"edges":[{"node":{"dfpName":"hurricane"}},{"node":{"dfpName":"weather"}},{"node":{"dfpName":"earthquakes"}}]},"tagSlugs":["news","homepage"],"watsonCategoryNames":["hurricane","weather","earthquakes"],"iabCategoryIds":["IAB15-10","IAB15-4"],"navigation":[{"title":"Fashion \u0026 Beauty","page":{"path":"/fashion-beauty"}},{"title":"News","page":{"path":"/news"}},{"title":"Entertainment","page":{"path":"/entertainment"}},{"title":"Life","page":{"path":"/life"}},{"title":"Dating","page":{"path":"/dating"}},{"title":"Video","page":{"path":"/video"}}],"__hash__":168304615}</script> <script>!function(){var e="https:"===document.location.protocol;function t(e){var t=document,c=t.createElement("script");c.src=e,c.async=!0,t.body.appendChild(c)}c=window,a=document,n=void 0,o=void 0,c.GoogleAnalyticsObject="ga",c.ga=c.ga||function(){(c.ga.q=c.ga.q||[]).push(arguments)},c.ga.l=1*new Date,n=a.createElement("script"),o=a.getElementsByTagName("script")[0],n.async=1,n.src="https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js",o.parentNode.insertBefore(n,o);var c,a,n,o;ga("create","UA-29208430-1","auto"),ga("require","displayfeatures"),s=window,i=document,r=void 0,p=void 0,d=void 0,s.fbq||(r=s.fbq=function(){r.callMethod?r.callMethod.apply(r,arguments):r.queue.push(arguments)},s._fbq||(s._fbq=r),r.push=r,r.loaded=!0,r.version="2.0",r.queue=[],(p=i.createElement("script")).async=!0,p.src="https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js",(d=i.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]).parentNode.insertBefore(p,d));var s,i,r,p,d;fbq("init","100478526961130"),window._comscore=[{c1:"2",c2:"15353773"}],t((e?"https://sb":"http://b")+".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js"),window.ezt=[{qacct:"p-xPmcrFNGfHkBg",uid:""}],t((e?"https://secure":"http://pixel")+".quantserve.com/aquant.js?a=p-xPmcrFNGfHkBg"),window._sf_async_config={uid:50134,useCanonical:!0,domain:"elitedaily.com"},t("https://static.chartbeat.com/js/chartbeat.js"),t("https://js-sec.indexww.com/ht/p/184341-199419395447163.js"),function(){for(var e=["Promise","fetch","Map","requestAnimationFrame","Object.assign"],t=e.length,c=[],a=0;a<t;a++){var n=e[a],o=n.split("."),s=window[o[0]];(!s||o.length>1&&!s[o[1]])&&c.push(n)}var i=c.join();i&&document.write('<script defer src="https://cdn.polyfill.io/v2/polyfill.min.js?features='+i+'"><\/script>')}()}()</script> <script defer src="https://cdn.bustle.com/elitedaily/production/assets/main-e85394398496.js"></script><script defer src="https://cdn.bustle.com/elitedaily/production/assets/PostPage-335e28eccca4.js"></script> <noscript style=display:none> <img src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=100478526961130&ev=PageView&noscript=1" alt> <img src="http://b.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=2&c2=15353773&cv=2.0&cj=1" alt> <img src=https://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-xPmcrFNGfHkBg.gif alt> </noscript> </body> </html> 