While hurricane season officially begins June 1st, the Atlantic usually remains relatively calm until August. But so far 2019 has been especially quiet; between July 15 to August 19 there was no Atlantic named storm activity for the first time during these dates since 1982, according to CSU hurricane expert Dr. Phil Klotzbach. In addition, tropical storm Chantal formed on August 20, which is a week later than the typical date for a season’s third named storm.
Over the last several days there has been a decrease in overall wind shear across much of the Caribbean and Atlantic. In addition, there have been signs that the strong easterlies across the eastern and central Atlantic will decrease in the near term. These factors should lead to more favorable environmental conditions for tropical storm formation as we head into September.
Historically, about 2/3 of all Atlantic hurricane activity occurs between August 20 – October 10, with the peak of the season landing around September 11. So over the next couple of weeks, tropical storm and hurricane formation may increase considerably!
Next up on the list of Atlantic storm names is Dorian.
