MIAMI, Florida--The upcoming Atlantic Ocean hurricane season could include at least three severe tempests, but will likely involve fewer storms than usual overall, private forecaster AccuWeather predicted on Wednesday.
Meteorologists with AccuWeather are crediting a weather phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean - known as El Niño - with creating conditions that will result in a smaller number of hurricanes than usual in the Atlantic.
El Niño, characterized by warmer-than-normal temperatures in the Pacific, can bring a rainy year for California, but cause other areas to experience drought.
Yet the strong westerly winds that the phenomenon creates in the tropical areas of the Atlantic Ocean can slow the development of hurricanes, AccuWeather said in a report released early on Wednesday.
"We now believe El Niño will come on board sometime during the summer, and will continue all the way through the rest of the hurricane season, “AccuWeather Meteorologist Dan Kottlowski said in the report.
The hurricane season, which begins on June 1 and continues through November 30, will likely produce about ten storms large enough to be given names by meteorologists, the weather service said, fewer than the 15 named storms that swept through the Atlantic last season, threatening the U.S. East Coast, as well as coastal regions and islands further south.
Of the 10 storms, about half could develop into hurricanes - 3 of them large enough to be considered major hurricanes, AccuWeather said.
At least one could be what meteorologists call a high-impact storm, similar to last year's Hurricane Matthew, which U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said was directly responsible for 585 deaths.
Last year's hurricane season was the deadliest in more than 10 years for the Atlantic basin, AccuWeather added.
