The 2016 Eastern Pacific hurricane season officially begins today May 15, and should be quieter
Last year set a record for the most major hurricanes (Category 3 or higher) ever recorded in the Eastern Pacific east of 140°W, with nine such storms (reliable records go back to 1971.) One of those 2015 hurricanes was Earth's strongest tropical cyclone ever measured, Hurricane Patricia of October 2015, which reached astonishing sustained wind speeds of 215 mph. The year 2016 should see fewer major hurricanes in the northeast Pacific, thanks to cooler sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and less favorable upper-level winds brought on by what appears to be an emerging La Niña event. In their May 12 update, NOAA predicted a 70% chance of La Niña conditions emerging by the August-September-October peak of the Northern Hemisphere hurricane season. SSTs off the Pacific coast of Mexico this week were about 1°C (1.8°F) cooler than what they were last year in mid-May (Figure 1), and will likely continue to cool (relative to average) during the next few months. The forecast for the 2016 Eastern Pacific hurricane season, issued on May 6 by Mexico's Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (SMN), predicted 17 named storms, 9 hurricanes, and 4 major hurricanes. This is close to the average numbers (east of 140°W) from 1981 - 2010, which were 15 named storms, 8 hurricanes, and 4 major hurricanes. The 2015 Northeast Pacific hurricane season (east of 140°W) featured 18 named storms, 13 hurricanes, and 9 major hurricanes.
https://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=3302
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Two weeks to go for the Atlantic, Caribbean and GOM folks - time to prepare folks - catch the sales.
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