The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is monitoring an “area of interest” near the Bahamas as the hurricane season quickly approaches.
The Atlantic hurricane season typically begins on June 1 and runs until November 30, according to NOAA. The season for the eastern Pacific Ocean starts on May 15 and lasts until November 30.
According to NOAA, an average Atlantic hurricane season has about 14 named storms, seven hurricanes, and three major hurricanes. The first named storm of the season usually develops around the middle of June, and the first hurricane tends to form around early-to-mid August.
Historically from the years 1944 to 2020, hurricane and tropical storm development peaked between September and October. The least active period for hurricane development is December to May.
However, it appears that the potential for hurricane development is beginning ahead of schedule this year.
On May 22, NOAA officials identified a weak disturbance about 200 miles northeast of the central Bahamas. However, officials said this disturbance only has a 10% chance of developing into an actual hurricane, decreasing to a near-zero chance in the next 48 hours.
NOAA reported Monday that the scattered showers and thunderstorms associated with this large area of disturbed weather had decreased since the previous day.
“Environmental conditions have become more hostile, and development of this system is not expected while it moves north-northeastward at 5 to 10 mph over the southwestern Atlantic during the next day or so,” said NOAA officials on their website.
Currently, this is the only known disturbance with any risk factors in the Atlantic Ocean.
Weather officials have not yet given any predictions for the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season. However, weather experts at NOAA announced they would issue their outlook for the expected number of storms this season during a news conference at the NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction in College Park, Maryland, on May 25.