This year's hurricane season could see many record-breaking hurricanes

Scientists at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have issued their highest forecast to date for the Atlantic hurricane season : 17 to 25 named storms. According to forecasts, 13 of these storms will be hurricanes with winds of 119 km/h or more, and 4 to 7 storms will be major storms with winds of 179 km/h or more.

Experts predict more than two dozen storms could appear this year due to climate change and La Niña .

The upcoming Atlantic hurricane season could be especially strong due to climate change. (Photo: Getty Images).

' This hurricane season looks like it's going to be very special. 2024 is now on track to be the seventh consecutive above-normal hurricane season,' NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad said during a May 23 press conference.

According to NOAA, an average hurricane season has 14 named storms, 7 of which are hurricanes and 3 of which are major hurricanes. The most active season on record was 2020, which had up to 30 named storms.

Scientists have previously found that climate change has made extremely active Atlantic hurricane seasons more likely than in the 1980s. This is because the oceans are hotter doesn't make storms more frequent , but it does make them grow faster and stronger.

Storms develop from a thin layer of warm ocean water that evaporates and rises to form storm clouds. The warmer the ocean, the more energy the system receives, pushing storm formation into overdrive and allowing intense storms to quickly form.

Since March 2023, average sea surface temperatures around the world have reached record highs - suggesting a major hurricane season is on the horizon. Scientists also predict that El Niño, which has just ended, will transition to La Niña.

El Niño is a climate cycle in which waters in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean are warmer than normal, affecting global weather patterns.

During El Niño, winds in the Atlantic Ocean are often stronger and more stable than normal, playing a role in preventing storm formation. But if the climate cycle plays out as predicted and El Niño is replaced by La Niña, the summer could be stormy. That's because La Niña weakens the trade winds and thereby reduces the vertical wind shear that causes new storms to form.

So far this decade, there have been five unprecedented storms of 309 km/h or more, leading scientists to propose "Category 6" intensity to describe them.