Summer is peak hurricane season, and it's never the same from one year to the next. To help you understand what is going on and what we expect to happen in the future, our highly-experienced Kiplinger Letter team will keep you abreast of the latest developments and forecasts (Get a free issue of The Kiplinger Letter or subscribe). You'll get all the latest news first by subscribing, but we will publish many (but not all) of the forecasts a few days afterward online. Here’s the latest...
Meteorologists are calling for a close-to-average hurricane season. But it’s an unusually tricky forecast, they say. The weather pattern known as El Niño, when sea surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific Ocean rise above normal, is likely to arrive soon. In general, El Niño has a tendency to suppress hurricane formation in the Atlantic due to certain atmospheric effects.
But this year, sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea are well above normal. And warm water serves as fuel, potentially allowing any hurricanes that do form to develop faster and stronger. So, figure on a normal number of storms, but watch out for bad ones. Conditions may be especially ripe for powerful hurricanes to form. And remember, it takes only one severe hurricane hitting the wrong spot to make for a bad season.
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Some good news on the hurricane forecast front: New radar could help by providing meteorologists with more detail on how storms are forming. A grant from the federal government’s National Science Foundation (NSF). will develop the system in partnership with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. Eventually, researchers hope that more-accurate radar than what is now used to monitor storms will lead to better forecasts, giving people and businesses in harm’s way more warning.
This forecast first appeared in The Kiplinger Letter, which has been running since 1923 and is a collection of concise weekly forecasts on business and economic trends, as well as what to expect from Washington, to help you understand what’s coming up to make the most of your investments and your money. Subscribe to The Kiplinger Letter.
Read more
- How to Prepare For a Hurricane and Other Natural Disasters
- How Harsh Weather Affects Financial Benefits of Moving to Florida
- Farmers Face Lower Costs, Greater Weather Risks: Kiplinger Economic Forecasts
- 10 Things to Know About Hurricane Insurance Claims
-
Visa Is the Worst Dow Stock Wednesday. Here's WhyVisa stock is down sharply Wednesday after the credit card company came up short of revenue expectations for its fiscal Q3.
-
Another Analyst Moves to the Sidelines on Tesla Stock After EarningsTesla stock is spiraling Wednesday after the EV maker's big earnings miss and Wall Street has been quick to weigh in. Here's what you need to know.
-
Kiplinger Special: The Long-Term Future of the U.S. EconomyThe Kiplinger Letter Kiplinger's report into what it will take the U.S. to maintain a healthy economic growth rate.
-
Chinese E-Tailers Are Surging in the U.S. Market: The Kiplinger LetterThe Kiplinger Letter Low costs and cheap shipping enable Temu and others to grab market share.
-
Why Your Electric Bill Will Keep ClimbingThe Kiplinger Letter There's no end in sight for energy rate hikes, so look for ways to curb your power use.
-
Future U.S. Economic Growth Hinges on ImmigrantsThe Kiplinger Letter With the native birthrate slipping, employers are increasingly relying on foreign-born workers to staff up.
-
Fed Rate Cuts Still on HoldThe Kiplinger Letter With inflation stubbornly elevated, the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates high for now.
-
A Spotlight on the Pacific States: The Kiplinger LetterThe Kiplinger Letter Most Pacific states are seeing good job growth in multiple sectors including tourism, hospitality, and construction.
-
The Robots Are Coming... But Not For a WhileThe Kiplinger Letter There’s excitement in the tech sector over the potential of humanoid robots, but widespread adoption is likely to be years away.
-
Farmers Face Another Tough Year As Costs Continue to Climb: The Kiplinger LetterThe Kiplinger Letter Farm income is expected to decline for a second year, while costs continue to up-end farm profitability.
