Atlantic Hurricane Season Open for Business

June 1 marks the official opening of hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean. Although 2006 conditions appear "hurricane friendly," the sea surface temperature ranges are not as extreme as at the opening of the 2005 season.

Developing hurricanes need warm sea surface temperatures and calm winds. Warm water fuels both heat and humidity for a strong storm while calm winds allow the hurricane to build slowly instead of blowing apart from strong gusts. As of late May 2006, sea surface temperatures were warmer than normal and the winds were calm.

This pair of images contrasts sea surface temperatures on May 30, 2006 (top) and May 30, 2005 (bottom), as measured by NASA's Aqua satellite. Red indicates regions where waters are warmer than the twelve-year average (1985-1997), blue indicates cooler-than-average temperatures, and white shows no difference.

In 2006, Atlantic temperatures were slightly warmer than average, particularly in the Caribbean. Strong southwest trade winds stirring in the Gulf of Mexico, however, kept surface waters cool, said NASA scientist David Adamec. By contrast, in 2005, the entire hurricane-prone section of the Atlantic was much warmer than average, and 2 degrees Celsius warmer than this year's opening day.  

The warm temperatures in 2005 allowed a record seven storms to form by the end of July, including Hurricane Emily, the first category 5 to occur in July. Despite the cooler temperatures, the National Hurricane Center predicts a very active hurricane season for 2006, with 13 to 16 named storms, 4 to 6 of which could grow into major hurricanes.

--Bjorn Carey

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Credit: NASA