We could be in a La Niña this summer. How will that impact hurricane season?
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Global climate patterns like El Niño and La Niña impact our weather, and while it can be a little confusing, it’s time to talk about it again.
Right now, we’re transitioning out of El Niño and possibly into a La Niña. So what does this mean for us, especially this summer?
La Niña is when the waters in the tropical pacific are cooler than average. Those cooler water temperatures are starting to show up on maps now, but we’re not quite in La Niña yet. Forecasters expect us to be in a full La Niña by the summer, however.
La Niña can bring big impacts to hurricane season. It adds less wind shear to tropical Atlantic, where our hurricanes develop, meaning more storms have the chance to develop. (Wind shear is when wind changes direction or speed with height.) Tropical systems don’t like strong wind shear as it can tear them apart.
NC State, Colorado State predict active hurricane season
During an El Niño season, wind shear is higher, and it can tear apart developing tropical storms. But with La Niña, (which is what we could be phasing into) the wind shear is much weaker so storms can develop more quickly, and sometimes can become stronger.
This is part of the reason why both NC State and Colorado State have called for a much more active than average hurricane season.
The official forecast from the National Hurricane Center for this year’s hurricane season will be released Thursday at 10 a.m. Look for that live, right here on CBS17.com.
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