How does El Niño influence hurricane activity? The El Niño Southern Oscillation is a pattern of short-term climate variability in the tropical Pacific.
Niño events and cold phases are known as La Niña events. El Niño events in the Pacific, which occur every 4-7 years, tend to suppress hurricane activity in the Atlantic, particularly inhibiting the formation of major hurricanes (category 3 or higher). For example, every year since 1995 has seen above-average hurricane activity, with two exceptions: 2006 and 1997—both El Niño years. La Niña events create conditions more favorable for Atlantic hurricanes. Back to Top Is the frequency of hurricanes increasing? Globally (not just in the North Atlantic), there is an average of about 90 tropical storms every year. According to the 2007 Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC-AR4), globally “[t]here is no clear trend in the annual numbers [i.e. frequency] of tropical cyclones.
Related Questions
- How does El Niño influence hurricane activity? The El Niño Southern Oscillation is a pattern of short-term climate variability in the tropical Pacific.
- Does the Influence of El Niño Southern Oscillation Increase from East to West in the United States?
- HOW DO WE USE THE EL NIÑO - SOUTHERN OSCILLATION TO FORECAST AUSTRALIAN CLIMATE?
