HOUSTON — There will likely be normal levels of tropical storm activity over the next two weeks as the Atlantic Ocean hurricane season hits its peak, forecasters at Colorado State University said this week.
An upper-level trough in the atmosphere is expected to continue bringing near-normal to above-normal wind shear over the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean, the forecasters said.
“This increased shear is likely due to a vigorous tropical upper-tropospheric trough which has been one of the primary reasons why the Atlantic hurricane season has not been as active as projected,” according to the forecast.
Before the season began on June 1, forecasters had said that above-normal sea surface temperatures and low wind shear across the southern United States was expected to stir up an above-average hurricane season.
On August 4, Colorado State forecasters called for four major hurricanes with sustained winds of at least 111 miles per hour (178.6 kmh).
The August outlook also forecast eight hurricanes, including the four major ones, out of 18 named tropical storms.
Tropical Storm Danielle formed on Thursday in the Atlantic, but is not expected to pose a risk to the United States.
Danielle is the fourth tropical storm to form this year in the Atlantic. No storms developed in August, historically an active month.
Typically, the waters around the U.S. Virgin Islands average a temperature of 84.9F during the month of September — the highest temperature of all the months of the year, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Tropical storms are closely watched especially in the Gulf of Mexico because of the threat they pose to offshore oil and natural gas production in the United States and Mexico.
Offshore operations in the U.S.-regulated northern Gulf of Mexico accounts for 15 percent of total crude oil production and five percent of total dry natural gas output.
Also, 47 percent of U.S. crude oil refining and 51 percent of natural gas processing plant capacity are located along the Gulf coast.
Hurricane season ends on November 30.
[wpedon id=23995]—REUTERS
Reporting by Erwin Seba Editing by Bernadette Baum
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