Above-Average Atlantic Hurricane Activity Again Expected In 2021https://phys.org/news/2021-04-above-average-atlantic-hurricane.htmlThe year 2020 saw the most active hurricane season on record and marked the fifth consecutive year for above-average activity. A University of Arizona-led hurricane forecasting team predicts another year of above-average hurricane activity over the Atlantic Ocean in 2021.
The team predicts 18 named storms, including eight hurricanes, throughout the 2021 North Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. In comparison, the 30-year average is 13 named storms and seven hurricanes annually.
Four storms are expected to produce major hurricanes, which are defined as category 3, 4 or 5.
If the predictions are realized, 2021 will be the sixth-consecutive year for above-average activity.
"We need to ask ourselves if this is part of the natural variability of the system, or if we are already seeing impacts of global warming," ... "If this is part of the natural variability, then after some overactive seasons, we'd expect activity to quiet down, but every year is kind of crazy in the past few years."
While this season is expected to bring above-average activity, it isn't expected to be as dramatic as last year, partly due to average climate patterns in the Pacific Ocean driven by sea surface temperatures.
When eastern tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures are below average—a weather phenomenon known as La Niña—it drives up easterly wind speeds over the Atlantic that exacerbate hurricanes. When Pacific sea surface temperatures are above average—a weather pattern referred to as El Niño—it weakens easterly winds and weakens hurricane activity over the Atlantic.
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Trump Delayed $20bn In Aid to Puerto Rico After Hurricane Maria, Report Findshttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/22/hurricane-maria-puerto-rico-trump-delayed-aidThe Trump administration delayed more than $20bn in hurricane relief aid for Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, according to a report by the housing department’s office of the inspector General.
The efforts to deliver recovery funding to the island were “unnecessarily delayed by bureaucratic obstacles”, according to the 46-page report. The hurricane, which hit the island in 2017, killed thousands of people and left thousands more without electricity or water for months.
... The investigators were unable to determine why the extra layer of review was required due to “denials of access and refusals to cooperate”, according to the report.
https://www.hudoig.gov/sites/default/files/2021-04/HUD%20OIG%20Final%20Report_2019SU008945I.pdf