Colorado State University has released its annual Atlantic hurricane season outlook. According to the outlook, hurricane season activity will be above the 1991-2020 average.
The 2022 season is projected to have nine hurricanes (7.2 is average), 19 named storms (average is 14.4), 90 named storm days (average is 69.4), 35 hurricane days (average is 27.0), four major (Category 3-4-5) hurricanes (average is 3.2) and nine major hurricane days (average is 7.4).
The probability of U.S. major hurricane landfall is estimated to be about 135% of the long-period average. The university noted it expected the Atlantic basin Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) and Net Tropical Cyclone (NTC) activity in 2022 to be approximately 130% of their long-term averages.
“So overall, this kind of continuous La Niña-like signal that we’ve seen for the last several years looks like it’s probably going to persist through this year’s hurricane season. If this forecast were to verify and we were to get another above-average season, it would be the seventh above-average Atlantic hurricane season in a row. So, if it seems like it’s been busy, it’s because it has,” said Phil Klotzbach, who is responsible for the seasonal forecasts issued by Colorado State University.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast for this year’s season will be released in May, and Colorado State will provide another update in early June.
Source: Colorado State University
