RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — This year is flying by and today marks 30 days until the start of the 2024 hurricane season.
The CBS 17 weather team has talked about this before, just about every sign out there points to an above-average season in the Atlantic.
We're going from El Nino to La Nina in the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic is already really warm. We're seeing summer-like water temps across a good chunk of the Atlantic basin already.
The forecast from Colorado State issued last month calls for a very busy season, busier than last year. The official outlook from NOAA will come out later this month.
The phenomenon of La Nina occurs when water off the coast of South America near the equator is cooler than average. When it's warmer than average, then it's called El Nino/ When we have La Nina conditions in the Pacific, that typically tends to reduce wind shear in the Atlantic. While severe storms need wind shear to form, tropical systems need as little wind shear as possible to get organized vertically and strengthen more easily.
Finally, the ocean temperatures are ridiculously warm for early May. While the Gulf Stream off the Carolina coast is pretty much always warm, some of the numbers in the tropics are well ahead of schedule. Anything at or over 80 degrees can support a hurricane.
The CBS 17 weather team will keep you updated with the latest from the tropics as we get into the season.