Although recent monsoon storms have taken their toll on the Phoenix area and the region, there were no storms to be found in the Atlantic Ocean during hurricane season — at least for what seemed like a moment. But this may mean even more storms for the Southwest.
Sept. 12 was the peak of the hurricane season, yet not a single storm stirred anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere. This hasn’t happened since 1977. In fact, there was no storm activity for an entire 54 hours.
The National Weather Service’s Mark O’Malley said this could have been expected now, but it won’t become the norm.
“It’s been kinda quiet the last couple years," said O' Malley. "It will pick up as we go into the future. And as the oceans warm, and stay warm with climate change, there may be an increase in activity over the long-run but any given season you’re going to see large fluctuations due to other things going on in the atmosphere.”
O’ Malley said the ocean-warming weather phenomenon known as El Nino is expected to persist into the spring, disrupting storm formation in the Atlantic by increasing the jet stream against the path of hurricanes. But, warmer Pacific waters are expected to increase storm activity for Arizona.
