AccuWeather tropical weather forecasters have finalized their preliminary forecast for the upcoming 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

According to the AccuWeather forecasting team, this season will be less active than the majority of seasons since 1995 and could feature a similar number of storms as 2022.

Current projections indicate that the 2023 season will be near the historical average with 11 to 15 named storms. 4 to 8 of these storms are expected to reach hurricane strength, with 1 to 3 of these hurricanes reaching major hurricane status (maximum sustained winds of 180 km/h or more) rated between 3 and 5 on the scale Hurricane Saffir-Simpson winds.

"We are also projecting two to four direct impacts on the United States, including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands," said Senior Meteorologist and Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski, who has been issuing forecasts for AccuWeather for over 40 years.

Based on the 30-year average from 1990 to 2020, a typical hurricane season consists of 14 named storms, 7 hurricanes, 3 major hurricanes, and 4 direct impacts on the United States.

AccuWeather says the forecast for 2023 was developed taking into account a number of critical environmental factors that will influence the season, including : the expected transition to El Niño, sea surface temperatures in tropical hotspots Atlantic and the strength of a wind regime over Africa known as the East African Jet Stream, the strength of which generally plays a large role in the number of tropical waves entering the Atlantic from the Africa. However, the imminent arrival of El Niño, should cause the African jet to weaken, leading to fewer tropical waves emerging offshore to the east of the African coast.

HL/ HaitiLibre