The Atlantic Hurricane season is about to become real

After an unusually slow start for the hurricane season, it seems that Storm activity is about to get up. Meteorologists keep an eye vigilant in the Atlantic basin as the temperatures on the ocean surface reach record levels.

Until now, the Atlantic 2025 Hurricane season has produced four tropical storms and no hurricane. Friday, August 8, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) was monitoring two areas of interest in storm development, one off the southeast of the United States and the other in the central Atlantic. The NHC claims that the chances of development of the two systems are low, but the high temperatures of the ocean surface raise concerns concerning the potential of hurricanes.

“While the Atlantic Hurricane season in 2025 is in its historic peak, atmospheric and oceanic conditions continue to promote a season superior to normal as the NOAA predicted it for the first time in May,” said the NOAA in an update of Thursday, August 7.

Strong marine heat waves – persistent periods of ocean temperatures above average – are present on a large part of the North Atlantic off the east coast, according to the NoAA physical sciences. On Sunday August 3, the Hurricane specialist based in Miami, Michael Lowry, shared the NOAA data showing record sea temperatures through the Western Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico.

The warmer ocean surface temperatures create more energetic storms, helping them turn into hurricanes, according to the NOAA. In 2024, sea heat waves fueled the Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, causing billions of dollars from damage along the East Coast. The Hurricane season of the Atlantic 2023 was also characterized by extreme sea surface temperatures, producing the fourth largest number of storms named since the start of records in 1950. As the global average temperature increases, marine heat waves become more intense and more persistent. This is partly why climate change leads to stronger hurricanes.

However, sea surface temperatures are not the only factors that meteorologists pay attention to it. In July, the meteorologist of the Ministry of Defense, Eric Webb, said that atmospheric conditions could help more storms draw the ends on the east coast this season, reports the Washington Post. “I am honestly more convinced than now than me,” he told publication this week, pointing to high temperatures and atmospheric pressure models that could guide storms to the United States

In addition, Madden-Julian oscillation can increase the risk of additional storms at the end of August as it crosses Africa, reports the Washington Post. The NOAA describes the MJO as a disturbance moving east of the clouds, precipitation, winds and pressure that cross the planet for one to two months before returning to its starting point. The models suggest that these conditions can be added to an increasing activity in the Atlantic basin after August 15, according to the Washington Post.

The Atlantic Hurricane season is culminating historically in September, so seeing the activity of storms increase in August is not unusual. That said, unprecedented oceanic and atmospheric conditions motivated by climate change are about to quickly move the course of this slow season to start. Several non-Hurricane strength storms have already brought devastating impacts to the United States this year. The remains of the tropical storm Barry contributed to fatal floods of July 4 in Texas Hill Country, and Chantal caused significant damage in North Carolina. The affected communities will be particularly vulnerable to all storms that affect landing in their region as cleaning efforts are continuing.