Texas Has Been So Hot From La Niña & A Busy Hurricane Season Won’t Solve Anything
This is the seventh above-average hurricane season in a row!
Waters flood a road near Houston, TX following Hurricane Harvey. Right: Debris covers a beach in Galveston, TX after a hurricane.
It's hurricane season for Texas and the rest of the Atlantic coast, and it's going to be a busy one.
The Lone Star state's climate over the past few months has been an indicator of another predicted above-average season. Heatwaves have swallowed Texas for weeks now, following the March tornado outbreak that hit central Texas.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says these signs point to the climate pattern nick-named La Niña and the lack of her counterpart, El Niño.
La Niña's presence is typically bad news for Texans because it means some pretty huge storms from the tropics are expected.
If you aren't familiar, or you haven't experienced a hurricane, the NOAA once explained it this way in a blog:
"Simply put, El Niño favors stronger hurricane activity in the central and eastern Pacific basins, and suppresses it in the Atlantic basin. Conversely, La Niña suppresses hurricane activity in the central and eastern Pacific basins, and enhances it in the Atlantic basin."
Earth has apparently been in La Niña since summer 2020, according to the Washington Post.
Nothing is coming for Texas just yet, but there is a range of 14-21 named storms predicted to hit the Atlantic from now until November 1. About six out of 10 could officially become hurricanes, with three of those six potentially becoming major hurricanes.
We can almost hear the collective groan coming from people living in a Texas, Atlantic, or Gulf coastal town when the season starts, but it should be a trusty reminder to get your household prepared.