Several Storms Predicted for This Year, Six to Ten becoming Hurricanes

Gordon advised that there are factors that are going to be in play during this hurricane season’s above normal prediction. Already, he said, there are between sixteen to twenty-one storms forming, with between six and ten becoming hurricanes.

Ronald Gordon

Ronald Gordon, Chief Meteorologist, National Meteorological Office

“When it comes to seasonal prediction, there are two main factors that we look at. One is whether we are having an El Nino or La Nina season because as most residents or folks would know, when you have an El Nino, it typically suppresses tropical storm activity in our basin. And when you have cooler than normal sea surface temperatures also in the Atlantic, it suppresses tropical cyclone activity. For this particular season we’re looking at both conditions being favourable for above normal. NOAA, for example, which is the (U.S) National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration is forecasting fourteen to twenty-one names storms, and of those, six to ten to become hurricanes, and three to six major hurricanes.”