Hold onto your umbrellas, folks – weather experts are sounding the alarm for an \"extremely active\" 2024 Atlantic hurricane season! 🌊 Colorado State University (CSU) predicts a jaw-dropping 23 named storms, with 11 hurricanes and 5 major hurricanes packing winds over 111 mph. That’s way above the average of 14 storms per season. 😱
Why the spike? Blame it on record-warm ocean temperatures (hurricane fuel 🔥) and the fading El Niño weather pattern, which usually helps disrupt storms. Meteorologist Phil Klotzbach calls this setup \"eerily similar\" to past blockbuster seasons. 🌡️
Coastal communities and energy hubs – especially along the U.S. Gulf Coast (home to 15% of America’s crude oil production 💰) – are urged to prep early. \"We expect a well above-average chance of major hurricanes hitting the U.S. coastline and Caribbean,\" CSU warned. Last year’s Hurricane Idalia (Category 3) already showed how quickly things can spiral. 🏠🌀
With other forecasts like AccuWeather hinting at up to 30 storms, 2024 could join infamous seasons like 2005’s Katrina year. The season officially starts June 1 – time to dust off those emergency kits! 🚨
