2015 North Atlantic hurricane season review

This whitepaper looks back at the 2015 North Atlantic hurrican season, and looks ahead at the 2016 season. It reviews North Atlantic storms and their impacts, the 2015 season forecasts, the role of the ocean and atmosphere in the 2015 season activities, the influence of El Niño and an outlook for the 2016 season.

According to the report, the 2015 season extends the longest period on record – since 1851 – with no major U.S. hurricane landfalls in 10 years. Early forecasts predict 2016 will continue the pattern. In addition to the anticipation of a strong El Niño event, the quiet 2015 season is attributed to: above-average wind shear across the Caribbean and central tropical Atlantic, anomalously low Atlantic mid-level moisture, strong steering currents over the eastern U.S. and anomalously high tropical Atlantic subsidence (sinking air) in the Main Development Region (MDR).