Dear Tom,
Why haven’t there been any hurricanes yet this year?
— Amanda Lonis
Dear Amanda,
The tropical Atlantic has been very quiet so far this season. Not only haven’t there been any named storms, but forecasters have had only a smattering of disturbances to investigate. The developing El Nino may be part of the reason. During an El Nino episode, hurricane frequency tends to decrease in the Atlantic Basin. The reason is an increase in the winds aloft, which creates more wind shear, a condition that disrupts their formation. With no named storms through Monday, this season becomes the latest starting Atlantic season since 1992. However, that season more than made up for its late start. The first named storm which finally formed on Aug. 16 developed into Category 5 Andrew, which devastated South Florida.
———-
Write to: ASK TOM WHY, 2501 Bradley Pl., Chicago, IL 60618 or: asktomwhy@wgntv.com
Weather Report is prepared by the WGN-TV Weather Center, where Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN News at 11:30 a.m., 5:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.
WGN-TV meteorologists Steve Kahn, Richard Koeneman and Paul Dailey plus weather producer Bill Snyder contribute to this page.
Weather updates: Search for forecasts by ZIP code and radar images at chicagotribune.com/weather or wgntv.com
