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About the Song: Why Hasn\u2019t There Been a Hurricane?
\nClimate Energy Is Being Redistributed
\nThe absence of hurricanes isn\u2019t evidence that the climate system is becoming less energetic. It is the opposite: climate energy is being redistributed in ways that produce very different outcomes in different parts of the planet. <\/p>\n
As of September 23, the Atlantic has produced six named storms but still has produced zero hurricanes\u2014an exceptionally delayed first hurricane. NOAA\u2019s current summary shows Atlantic ACE about 92% below the 1991\u20132020 average at this point in the season.<\/p>\n
The alarming part isn\u2019t simply the lack of hurricanes. It\u2019s the apparent coupling of climate patterns that historically operated more independently. I first warned about this Pacific El Ni\u00f1o\u2013Atlantic Ni\u00f1a coupling back in May. Now, as we progress this far into the season, the observations are providing an unusually clear real-world example of how teleconnections can link distant parts of the climate system.<\/p>\n
The simultaneous occurrence of an extreme Pacific El Ni\u00f1o and an anomalous Atlantic Ni\u00f1a represents a significant disruption of the historical baseline. NOAA reports that the El Ni\u00f1o is strengthening, with eastern equatorial Pacific sea-surface temperatures already more than 3\u00b0C above average.<\/p>\n
An Atlantic Ni\u00f1a can suppress Atlantic hurricane development through increased atmospheric stability and wind shear. So there is a relatively straightforward physical explanation for the quiet Atlantic. But I think the deeper question is why these large-scale ocean\u2013atmosphere patterns are coupling so strongly in the first place.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s where climate-acceleration research comes in. I see this as evidence worth watching for increasingly interconnected feedbacks and teleconnections\u2014changes in ocean circulation, atmospheric circulation, energy redistribution, and the hydrologic and carbon cycles that can influence one another across ocean basins.<\/p>\n
In other words, the absence of hurricanes isn\u2019t evidence that the climate system is becoming less energetic. It is the opposite: climate energy is being redistributed in ways that produce very different outcomes in different parts of the planet.<\/p>\n
It may manifest as a powerful, rare September nor\u2019easter hitting the Jersey Shore.<\/p>\n
Why Hasn\u2019t There Been a Hurricane? Climate Energy Is Being Redistributed<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n