Publication Date December 1, 2015 | WxShift

A Tale of Two Hurricane Seasons: Atlantic vs. Pacific

Bahamas
Tropical Storm Ana as it headed toward landfall in South Carolina on May 9, 2015, a somewhat unusual pre-season Atlantic storm. Credit: NASA
Tropical Storm Ana as it headed toward landfall in South Carolina on May 9, 2015, a somewhat unusual pre-season Atlantic storm. Credit: NASA

The end of November means that both the Atlantic and East Pacific hurricane seasons have drawn to a close, and storm activity in the two ocean basins was quite different, indeed, but for the same reason. A strong El Niño muffled activity in the Atlantic, but boosted it in the Pacific, as forecasters anticipated back in the spring.