Forecasters watching a dozen tropical features around the world
The Pacific Ocean is bustling as summer wanes, while the Atlantic is showing signs of life despite an uphill battle
The global tropics are bustling as intense summer sunshine warms the Pacific and Atlantic basins to some of their warmest waters of the year.
Conditions across the Atlantic remain exceptionally quiet as a strengthening El Niño takes its toll on the region’s environment. Meanwhile, a steamy Pacific Ocean is practically printing one storm after another.
DON’T MISS: Trouble may lurk beyond hurricane season’s very quiet start
Pacific Ocean is bustling with activity
The Pacific Ocean is staying busy this year thanks to generally favourable conditions and very warm sea surface temperatures, influenced by the presence of a growing El Niño.
Four of the five tropical cyclones that have reached Category 5 strength around the world so far this year formed over steamy Pacific waters, including Sinlaku, Bavi, Dolphin, and Genevieve.
The basin shows no signs of slowing down.
Forecasters spent the weekend tracking 10 different areas of interest, including named storms and disturbances, throughout tropical sections of the Pacific Ocean. This basin is staying busy thanks to generally favourable conditions and very warm sea surface temperatures.
Portions of Japan and China will be on alert this week for potential flooding rains and gusty winds as two systems track through the region.
Typhoon Saudel is currently the equivalent of a major hurricane, though it’ll weaken as it tracks toward Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and mainland China. Tropical Storm Narra may also bring flooding rains to southern portions of the Chinese province of Guangdong.
Farther east, additional heavy rainfall is sweeping Hawaii this weekend as Tropical Storm Moke tracks south of the island chain. Tropical Storm Lala, which caused significant damage in Hawaii just a week ago, is slowly losing steam as it moves north toward cooler waters.
Forecasters are watching newly formed Tropical Storm Iselle in the eastern Pacific, which may reach hurricane strength early this week as it stays safely offshore.
Several other tropical disturbances in the eastern Pacific have the potential to develop into systems in the coming days.
Atlantic Ocean is snoozing…for now
Things couldn’t be more different in the neighbouring Atlantic, where we’ve only seen three weak named storms this year.
The Atlantic hurricane season is running significantly behind normal thanks in large part to El Niño, and that deficit will only grow as peak season approaches in September.
A weak system near Bermuda may briefly organize into a tropical depression or tropical storm this week as it moves toward the northern Atlantic.
South of there, a disturbance expected to roll off Africa may find some opportunity to grow organized this week as it tracks across the tropical Atlantic Ocean.
Coastal residents shouldn’t take the quiet Atlantic for granted. Even the slowest season influenced by El Niño can produce destructive hurricanes. It only takes one storm to make this a bad season.