How does La Niña influence hurricane season?
There’s no question that La Niña continues to contribute to the tropical Atlantic weather that we are experiencing. But remember, La Niña is only one of the climate elements that can produce an above average tropical storm and hurricane season in the North Atlantic. The ongoing pattern of tropical rainfall features above-normal rains across Indonesia and the eastern Indian Ocean, and a near-absence of rainfall across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific. These conditions are consistent with the continuing pattern of below-normal sea-surface temperatures over the central and eastern tropical Pacific (La Niña), and strongly influence the atmospheric circulation throughout the global tropics and subtropics. Over the tropical Atlantic, the impact of these conditions is often a large-scale and persistent pattern of atmospheric wind and pressure that is conducive to an active hurricane season.
