2019 Atlantic tropical storm season

The final updates to forecasts for the 2019 Atlantic Hurricane Season are coming in thick and fast now, with updates from Tropical Storm Risk (TSR) and the UK Met Office now raising the average forecast for the season slightly.

The state of Florida remains the most exposed to hurricane driven storm surges, with a huge 2.9 million homes in the state considered exposed which together have a combined reconstruction cost value of a stunning $603 billion.

Climate change is a factor in the intensity of hurricanes that threaten to strike the east coast of the United States, according to researchers who say that CO2 and greenhouse gases are helping to diminish the wind shear that can act as a barrier to storms.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center says there is a 30% chance that the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season sees above normal levels of activity and warns of factors including El Nino and a warmer than normal Atlantic that can affect intensity of the season.

Subtropical storm Andrea has formed in the Atlantic, heading in the general direction of Bermuda and kick starting the 2019 Atlantic tropical storm and hurricane season in advance of its accepted starting date.

Hawaii based climate and weather modeling, forecasting and risk management firm AbsoluteClimo has forecast an above average number of Atlantic hurricanes and west-Pacific typhoons will form during the 2019 seasons.