Colorado State University’s Department of Atmospheric Science has updated its 2024 Atlantic hurricane season forecast, increasing the number of named storms from 23 to 25.
“We have slightly increased our forecast and continue to call for an extremely active Atlantic hurricane season in 2024,” the CSU forecasters said in a statement. “Sea surface temperatures averaged across the hurricane Main Development Region of the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean remain near record warm levels. Extremely warm sea surface temperatures provide a much more conducive dynamic and thermodynamic environment for hurricane formation and intensification.”
The university said it anticipates cool neutral La Niña during the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, resulting in reduced levels of tropical Atlantic vertical wind shear.
“Hurricane Beryl, a deep tropical Category 5 hurricane, is also a likely harbinger of a hyperactive season,” the forecasters added. “We anticipate a well above-average probability for major hurricane landfalls along the continental United States coastline and in the Caribbean.”
