Above-Average Hurricane Season Predicted For 2022

LONG ISLAND, NY — The Eastern Seaboard of the United States could see more hurricanes than normal this year, according to the latest predictions from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA says there is a 65 percent chance of an above-average hurricane season for 2022, and only a 10 percent chance of below-average storm activity.

The NOAA, part of the National Weather Service, is predicting 14-21 named storms during this hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. Six to 10 of those storms could become hurricanes, and 3-6 could be major hurricanes, which are category 3 or higher.

“As we reflect on another potentially busy hurricane season, past storms — such as Superstorm Sandy, which devastated the New York metro area ten years ago — remind us that the impact of one storm can be felt for years,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad. “Since Sandy, NOAA’s forecasting accuracy has continued to improve, allowing us to better predict the impacts of major hurricanes to lives and livelihoods.”

According to NOAA, there are many factors playing into this year's increased hurricane season. One is an ongoing La Niña — an opposite effect of El Niño — which weakens hurricanes in the Pacific Ocean but increases them in the Atlantic. There are also above-average sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, and stronger African Easterly Waves, which NOAA says seed the strongest and longest-lived hurricanes.

NOAA also released the list of names agreed upon by the World Meteorological Organization, which will be used to name Atlantic storms in 2022.