Currently— April 14th, 2022

What you need to know, currently.

As we move into Spring, hurricane season is creeping up on us once again. It arrives officially on June 1st, although the World Meteorological Organization will begin issuing its hurricane bulletins on May 15. Some scientists believe hurricane season is growing longer.

Research on whether the season should be lengthened is debated, but hurricane seasons are definitely growing more intense. Hurricanes feed off of warm water and as climate change raises ocean temperatures, hurricanes increase in ferocity and size.

Researchers aren’t yet sure why, but hurricanes have also been moving more slowly as climate change progresses, which means they can cause significantly more damage when they arrive on land. Hurricane Dorian, for example, essentially parked over the Bahamas—moving at 1 mph, while internal winds of 185 mph chewed up the landscape.

The last two hurricane seasons were very active—2020’s season set a record with 30 named storms and 2021 came up not far behind it, with 21 named storms. Colorado State University released their hurricane outlook last week and, unfortunately, it looks to be similarly active. Forecasters are predicting 19 named storms this year, which is five more than the 30 year average. The National Hurricane Center began naming storms in 1950, in an effort to make the general public more aware of their dangers. In their FAQ section, the National Hurricane Center makes it clear that you cannot request to have a tropical storm named after you—in case you were considering bribery—but you can see the full list of upcoming names here.