Active Atlantic hurricane season expected in 2013
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U.S. businesses and residents should expect an active Atlantic hurricane season in 2013, said researchers from the Tropical Meteorology Project at Colorado State University.
The closely watched report, released Wednesday, projects 18 named storms for 2013, compared with an average of 12 named storms a year for the years 1981-2010.
In addition, the report says there is a 72% chance that a category 3, 4 or 5 hurricane will make landfall in the United States in 2013, compared with a 52% average for the past century.
“We anticipate that the 2013 Atlantic basin hurricane season will have enhanced activity compared with the 1981-2010 climatology,” the report states.
The prediction is based in part on the combination of an unusually warm tropical Atlantic and the relatively low likelihood of the El Niño effect, which usually coincides with lower hurricane activity in the Atlantic.
