Atlantic hurricane season to be strongest since 2012, Reuters

Santo Domingo.- This year’s Atlantic hurricane season isexpected to be the strongest since 2012 due in part to the expected end of theEl Niño, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecaston Thursday.

Reuters reports from New York that NOAA also expects morestorms forming in the Atlantic than in recent years due to weaker vertical windshear, less powerful trade winds over the central tropical Atlantic and astronger West African monsoon.

“NOAA said it expected a 70-percent chance of 12 to 17named storms in the 2016 hurricane season, of which five to eight would becomehurricanes, including two to four major ones,” the international wire service reportson its website.

NOAA’s latest forecast was above that in May, when it predicteda 70 percent chance of 10 to 16 named storms, four to eight hurricanes and oneto four major hurricanes for the current season compared with seasonal averagesof 12 named storms, six hurricanes and three major hurricanes, Reuters reports, adding that the 2015hurricane season was quieter, with 11 named storms, including four hurricanes,of which two were major, according to federal data.