Fewer US landfalls predicted for this year's hurricane season

Offshore staff

STATE COLLEGE, Pennsylvannia -- AccuWeather.com Chief Long-Range and Hurricane Forecaster Joe Bastardi has released an early hurricane season forecast for 2009 which predicts fewer landfalls in the US as well as a lower overall number of named storms. However, storms may be more likely to form in the Atlantic basin closer to the coast and the possibility of a major hurricane making landfall in the US cannot be ruled out, Bastardi says.

"Early indications show a reduction in the overall number of named storms and of major hurricanes in the Atlantic basin compared to last year, but the number of storms should still be near or a little above normal," says Bastardi.

Bastardi points to several factors influencing the forecast:
• The weak La Niña in the Pacific Ocean will dissipate. A reverse to a weak El Niño, which is associated with decreased hurricane activity in the Atlantic, is most likely in the middle to latter part of the hurricane season
• The expected orientation of high pressure in the eastern Atlantic will produce stronger easterly trade winds across northern Africa than last year. This will result in increased dust and dry air being pushed westward into the Atlantic where many tropical storms originate
• Cooler water temperatures in the deep tropical Atlantic, a typical breeding ground for hurricanes, which can reduce hurricane activity and intensity. This may create a season in which storms are reaching a greater intensity further north and east than last year, leading to less impact in the Caribbean areas hit hard last year
• A continuing multi-decadal pattern of higher-than-average water temperatures in the Atlantic, raising the chance of major storms near the East Coast until about 2020.

03/18/2009