Hurricanes

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Hurricane threat looms for Texas-Louisiana coast

Satellite view of Edouard and its lightning on Monday evening. (CIRA/CSU & NOAA)

Tropical Storm Edouard is closing in on the Gulf Coast and is forecast to make landfall near the Texas-Louisiana border today.

A hurricane watch is in effect for multiple communities as the fast-developing storm could bring heavy rainfall and gusty winds capable of toppling trees and causing power outages. Edouard is then expected to move inland over southeastern Texas tonight and rapidly weaken.

September is typically the peak of Atlantic hurricane season, when ocean temperatures are at their warmest and conditions are most favorable for storms to form and strengthen. This year, however, El Niño is helping suppress hurricane activity and is a key reason forecasters have called for a quieter year overall. But dangerous storms can still develop, making it all the more important for people in hurricane-prone areas to stay prepared through the fall.

+ Read more: Hurricane watch in effect as Tropical Storm Edouard’s rainbands sweep ashore in Louisiana

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• 🌀 The National Hurricane Center warns that Tropical Storm Edouard could become a hurricane by tomorrow as it is expected to make landfall in Texas and Louisiana. Get the latest.

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Hawaii hunkers down

Hawaii is bracing for the worst of Hurricane Lowell, with the storm expected to make its closest approach to the islands early today. Lowell is forecast to remain offshore and weaken, but its expanding wind field could bring tropical storm-force winds to the western islands, while more than a foot of rain in some areas raises the risk of dangerous flash flooding and mudslides. Lowell is the third storm in just over three weeks to target Hawaii as El Niño supercharges the Pacific hurricane season. A hurricane warning is in effect for the islands of Kauai and Niihau.

+ Read more: Hurricane Lowell lashing Hawaii with flooding rain and massive waves

+ Video: Meteorologist explains Hurricane Lowell’s path   Hurricane Lowell expected to pass near one Hawaiian island and cause major rains statewide Hawaii Gov. Josh Green closed schools and government offices on the westernmost islands of Kauai and Niihau and on Oahu for Tuesday as Hurricane Lowell was expected to pass nearby, bringing damaging winds, mudslides, possible tornadoes, dangerous rip currents and as much as 24 inches (about 60 centimeters) of rain to some areas on Kauai. https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-lowell-hawaii-schools-516235ba1cedaa7256de8d893c36a752?

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Where have all the Atlantic hurricanes gone? El Nino might bring record slow storm season

The Atlantic is quiet — record quiet — this hurricane season thanks to an enormous El Nino that crushes storms before they get going. Just as El Nino traditionally dampens Atlantic hurricane season, it tends to rev up tropical cyclone activity in the Pacific, with moist air and little wind shear. And so far this year, storm activity in the eastern Pacific is nearly double than normal, with hurricanes lasting much longer than usual. While the Atlantic has had only five small tropical storms, there have been 16 named storms in the eastern Pacific and 20 in the central Pacific. Read more.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

Tourists should skip Kauai for now as it recovers from Hurricane Lowell, officials say Radio silence amid Lowell reveals critical gap in emergency plan A stronger-than-normal El Nino alarms scientists over Galápagos wildlife and forests   ps:I for am very happy about that! But what I'd like to know is if they knew about el nino than why did they predict a big hurricane season, with a number being C4 or higher??

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All quiet on the Atlantic front

Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios This storm season is breaking at least one record: It's the longest the Atlantic has gone in the modern era without a recorded hurricane, Axios New Orleans' Chelsea Brasted reports. That's per meteorologist and hurricane-watcher Michael Lowry, who writes: "None of this is to say that we can't or won't see a week or two before the end of November where a big hurricane breaks through, but for the traditional height of the hurricane season, it doesn't get any better than this." 🌀 This year's hurricane season was expected to be quieter than normal. But experts still predicted eight to 14 named storms and three to six hurricanes. We've had just five named tropical storms so far. National Weather Service meteorologist Christopher Bannan notes that the satellite era began in 1966, ushering in the modern storm-tracking age. Bannan says we know of two prior years without any Atlantic hurricanes: 1907 and 1914. A man watches debris flow along a road in Naalehu, Hawaii, on Aug. 17 after Hurricane Lala brought heavy rain and strong winds. Photo: Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images 🌏 Yes, but: The Central Pacific has been notably active, with five named storms (+3 over the 1991–2020 normal) and two major hurricanes (+2). This year's especially powerful El Niño is fueling storm development in the Pacific while hampering it in the Atlantic, University of Tampa environmental studies professor Nicholas Grondin tells Scientific American. Go deeper ...

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Tropical Storm Fay forms far out in the Atlantic as Odalys strengthens in the Pacific

A new tropical storm formed Sunday in the northern Atlantic Ocean but does not appear to pose a threat to land. Read More.   Tropical Storm Polo forms off southwestern Mexico MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Polo formed late Sunday off southwestern Mexico. https://apnews.com/article/tropical-weather-polo-mexico-d577337f3e70fbf4f0c7dac7902edb4e?

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Category 5 Hurricane Polo is an ‘extremely dangerous’ storm off the coast of Mexico

MIAMI (AP) — Hurricane Polo grew increasingly strong Tuesday and was forecast to gain more intensity as it skirted Mexico’s southwestern coast as a Category 5 cyclone, weather experts said.

https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-polo-mexico-a6c1c226c878a236442a8e1a7f37211b?