A meteorologist at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School says ocean temperatures remain at record-breaking highs, indicating the upcoming summer could be even worse than the last.
The implications are profound , said Brian McNoldy on the Anti-Social podcast. Warmer ocean temperatures can translate into larger and more destructive hurricanes. Coral reefs off the Florida coastline could see further bleaching, as well.
McNoldy said scientists are not in agreement why temperatures are soaring for the last 10 months. Is it or ia blip or the new normal (they have their theories). Current ocean temperatures in the tropical Atlantic are reaching 86 degrees Fahrenheit – two degrees higher than average and a high not usually seen until June.
“It’s anomalously hot for this time of year. If you keep that same margin going, if that happens, this summer’s going to be worse than last summer,” McNoldy said. “We are only a couple months away really from where we are getting into that zone where the ocean can get hot enough to kill coral, or bleach coral at least.”
McNoldy, a tropical cyclone expert, also spoke about why meteorologists are expecting an explosive hurricane season with AccuWeather predicting 25 named storms, half of them hurricanes.
An expected transition to the La Niña climate pattern in the Pacific Ocean is expected to add fuel to the fire.
“I don’t see any reason why not to have a very active season,” he said. “We have La Niña going and ocean temperatures warmer than we have ever seen before so it is hard to see anything putting the brake on this.”
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