Hurricane season may begin earlier than normal.

Normally, hurricane season begins on June 1st. However, NOAA is considering moving up the date to May 15th. 

In the last decade of hurricane season, during six of the ten years storms were beginning to form in May.  Tropical Storm Arthur formed May 16th, in 2018, Tropical Storm Alberto formed in late May 2020, and in 2015, Tropical Storm Ana formed in mid-May. Not only have May storms been more common in the last decade, but also better technology has allowed for better detection and prediction. 

These earlier forming storms are due to the changing climate. Warm waters fuel hurricanes. An increasing temperature of ocean water will increase the activity of hurricane formation, as seen in 2020. With climate change, ocean waters are warming up earlier in the year and the zone is getting larger. Global warming is changing the hurricane season as we know it.

In additional hurricane news, the names for the 2021 Atlantic Hurricane season have also been released: Ana, Bill, Claudette, Danny, Elsa, Fred, Grace, Henri, Ida, Julian, Kate, Larry, Mindy, Nicholas, Odette, Peter, Rose, Sam, Teresa, Victor and Wanda.