Forecasters: Silence of El Nino, La Nina Make Storms Tougher to Predict
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
By: Nicole Creston

May 31, 2011 | WMFE - The Atlantic hurricane season officially begins Wednesday, and forecasters are busy with the tough task of tropical storm prediction. But a change in weather patterns could make forecasting even more difficult this year.

The relatively predictable weather forces known as El Nino and La Nina are warming and cooling trends that can either rev up hurricanes or suppress them…but they’re both expected to be neutral this year. Meteorologists say that without the guiding influence of El Nino or La Nina, it’ll be harder to accurately predict exactly what the 2011 hurricane season has in store.

In broad strokes, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami expect a busier-than-normal season, with as many as 18 named tropical storms. Three to six of those are predicted to be major hurricanes.