Hurricanes

NOAA has released its seasonal hurricane outlook for the Atlantic basin, and due to warm waters and a diminishing El Niño, the agency believes the year could be ferocious.

While forecasters are predicting a busy 2024 hurricane season, a phenomenon out of Africa could act as a wild card as the atmosphere transitions into summer.

Cities such as Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach all rank high to risks of natural disasters and pay some of the highest premiums.

Colorado State University hurricane researchers have released their initial outlook for the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season, which they believe promises to be an extremely active year, courtesy of an impending La Niña.

Akará is the first named system in the South Atlantic Basin since 2022.

Historically, La Niñas have produced busy tropical seasons, while the opposite is known to be true during El Niños - when conditions are typically hostile for cyclones in the Atlantic basin.

Since 1980, half of the 197 tropical cyclones rated a Category 5 happened within the past 17 years. Five of the storms would have met the hypothetical Category 6, according to the study.

Studies and hurricane experts have warned since the early 2000s that the hurricane forecast cone is not doing its job as people often misinterpret the graphic.

According to initial estimates, between $3-$4 billion worth of damage was done during the 2023 hurricane season.

In Acapulco, families held funerals for the dead on Sunday and continued the search for essentials while government workers and volunteers cleared streets clogged with muck and debris.

The images reveal the extensive damage to the Pearl of the Pacific, which has resulted in the tragic loss of at least 27 lives. Four people were still missing at last check from Mexico’s Minister of Security and Civil Protection.

Acapulco, known as the Pearl of the Pacific, is recovering after being pummeled by deadly Hurricane Otis, the most powerful storm on record for the Pacific coast of Mexico.

Otis was the strongest hurricane to ever make landfall on the Pacific side of Mexico. It was also the first time an Eastern Pacific hurricane made landfall at Category 5 intensity.

An elevated weather station in the hills overlooking Cabo San Lucas reported multiple wind gusts of more than 90 mph, with a peak gust of 107 mph.

Lingering effects from Ophelia continued in the mid-Atlantic on Sunday, as the brunt of the storm slammed into the Northeast and New England.

The fierce winds on the East Coast have caused over 50,000 power outages so far, and those numbers are expected to climb as the tropical storm-force gusts cause property damage and topple trees and power lines.