Since 1997, August has been absent of tropical storms. Is the hurricane season officially over?

 Since 1997, August has been absent of tropical storms. Is the hurricane season officially over?

In August, no hurricanes or tropical storms formed in the Atlantic basin for the first time since 1997. Storms that form in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico are included.

"It's been weirdly calm out there," Phil Klotzbach, a hurricane expert at Colorado State University, said. In reality, Klotzbach stated that there were no named Atlantic hurricanes from July 3 to August 30 for the first time since 1941.

So far this season, three tropical storms (Alex, Bonnie, and Colin) have developed in June and July, none of which have grown into hurricanes. When sustained winds reach 74 mph, a tropical storm becomes a hurricane.

Storms are expected to form soon.

According to the National Hurricane Center, three different systems are developing in the Atlantic, so the storm-free period is likely to end soon. However, none of the three systems appear to have any impact on the U.S. in the coming days.

One system spinning in the open Atlantic could develop into Tropical Storm Danielle within the next few days. And another system could develop into Tropical Storm Earl. Some computer models show Earl developing into a hurricane over the weekend in the North Atlantic, far from land.

In 2006, a satellite picture shows Hurricane Helene churning across the Atlantic Ocean. Hurricanes have been more severe in recent years, despite the fact that their aggregate number has decreased.

Do we have the TUTT to blame?

What became of all the forecasts for a "hyperactive" hurricane season? (Instead of the usual seven, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimated that this year there will be six to ten hurricanes in the Atlantic.)

The climatic phenomena known as "TUTT," which results in an increase in dry air and wind shear that can weaken nascent storms, is partially to blame for this, according to Klotzbach.

What is the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Speed ​​Scale?

"The fundamental cause of increased shear and drier air has been repeated intrusions of the tropical upper-tropospheric trough (TUTT)," he explained. The TUTT, he said, is a low-pressure system at 20,000-30,000 feet in the sky that often exists in the western Atlantic Ocean during hurricane season.

The TUTT is often weaker during busy Atlantic hurricane seasons. However, this has not been the case this year. "The TUTT is often linked with higher westerly shear as well as dry air being carried southward from the mid-latitudes," said the National Weather Service.

Has the hurricane season ended?

At this time, it's uncertain if we'll have a super-quiet season in which everyone fails to meet their seasonal expectations or if activity will ramp up significantly as the season's peak draws near.

Around September 15, the hurricane season often reaches its height.

What can we learn from the past? Two Augusts without any named storms have occurred since 1950: 1961 and 1997, according to Klotzbach. And whereas 1997 was an El Nio year with an above-average season, 1961 had a very active September that culminated in a hyperactive season.