ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON ENDS ON 11 NAMED STORMS

The 2015 Atlantic hurricane season has now formally ended, with a decade having now passed since a major hurricane made a US landfall. This year saw 11 named storms, four hurricanes and two major hurricanes form in the Atlantic. The strongest storm to form in the basin this year was hurricane Joaquin, which reached category 4 status as it hit the southern and central Bahamas. According to the National Hurricane Centre, the number of named storms in 2015 was in line with the average of the past 50 years. Between 1966 and 2009, the NHC said the typical year has seen 11 named storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes. Forecasters had expected this year’s Atlantic season to be relatively quiet as a result of the strengthening of the El Niño phenomenon in the tropical Pacific throughout the year. A strong vertical wind shear, and other conditions not conducive to cyclone formation, in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean were attributed to El Niño, as were the below-average sea-surface temperature in the tropical Atlantic.